The Halstead Siblings
by EL Hyland
Summary: The story follows the Halstead brothers, Jay and Will, and their sister, Hailey.
1. Chapter 1

Will sighed as he approached the nurse's station in the emergency room for the next chart. It had been a long night in the emergency room and his shift was almost over. "Who's next?"

"Drunk college girl," April said.

"Drugs?" He asked.

"Maybe, she's unconscious and the boyfriend isn't saying much, but maybe you can try and get something out of him." She said as she handed him the chart.

He frowned as he looked down at the name. "Jane Doe?"

"He wouldn't give her real name," She said.

"So, drugs are probably involved." He nodded. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

He headed into the room and glanced down at the unconscious patient in the bed. She had an IV hooked into her too thin arm and she was wearing a little black dress. Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smudged and he figured drugs were involved because she looked like she had been clubbing. As he looked at her face, his first reaction was that she looked too young to be in a club, but then he looked a little closer and he was sure he knew her.

"If you're not going to tell us what she took you can at least tell us her real name so we can contact her family." Will said to the boy sitting in the chair.

"She, uh," he cleared his throat. "She doesn't have any family."

"Are you sure?"

"Her Mom died a few years ago and her Dad drinks too much to notice she left six months ago." He said.

"What about siblings?"

"Uhm, I think she has a brother, or brothers maybe," He frowned. "But she doesn't talk to them, so I don't think calling them would matter."

"You never know, they might want to know." Will shrugged. "If it were my sister, I'd want to know."

"She said they never reach out, so she stopped trying over a year ago." He said. "Listen, her name is Hailey, we were at a party and she drank a lot, she always drinks a lot but something was different this time."

"And she didn't take any drugs?"

"Not that I saw, but I don't know." He said. "She's tortured, man. I mean she's my girl, but she's got some serious demons."

"Don't we all," he mumbled. "Anything else you can tell me?"

"Like what?" He asked.

"Anything," Will shrugged. "Is she stressed from college, or overworked at work, or does she take any sleeping pills?"

"No, but she takes anxiety medication." He said. "I don't know the name of it."

"That's okay, we can figure it out." He said. "Do you want to give me her ID now?"

The guy sighed as he pulled her license from his wallet. "Here."

Will took the license with a nod and left the room. He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed Jay. "Hey, you busy?"

"Considering it's six in the morning, no, not really." He said.

"Right, when was the last time you talked to Hailey?"

"I don't know, man." He said. "It's been a while, why?"

"She's here, in the hospital." He said.

"Is she okay?"

"She drank a lot and took some pills and passed out, but yeah, I think she'll be okay."

"Are you sure it's her?"

"Holding her licence." He said. "Listen, there's some guy here with her, said she told him she doesn't talk to anyone from her family and that she left home six months ago."

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

Will hung up as April approached him. "Get her real name?"

"I did," he sighed.

"Labs are back," she said. "Alcohol and prescription medication, she's fine, just needs to sleep it off and hydrate. Want me to notify the family?"

"No need, " he said. "She's my sister."

"Really?" She asked. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"She's a lot younger than Jay and me," he shrugged. "I suppose that's just an excuse, though. Send Jay in when he gets here?"

"Of course," she said. "And hey, no relationship is easy, especially with family."

Will headed back into the hospital room. "She'll be fine, but she needs to stay here for a while."

"Can I stay?" He asked.

"Sure," Will nodded. "What's your name?"

"Scott," he said.

"I'm Dr. Halstead," he said and watched his eyes widen slightly before he frowned, as he was putting it all together. "I'm Hailey's brother."

"Oh, I guess you do care."

Will smirked as he looked down at his sister. "More than you know."

"Hey," Jay said, coming into the room. He frowned heavily as he looked down at her. He kneeled in front of the bed and put a hand on her forehead for a moment. "How is she?"

"Stable," he said. "She'll be okay, Jay."

"You're the other brother, then?" Scott asked nervously.

"Detective Halstead," he said as he stood up.

"Scott," he swallowed noticeably.

"How old are you, Scott?" Jay asked.

"Twenty-one," he said.

"Did you know she wasn't twenty-one when you gave her alcohol?" Will was always amazed at the things Jay noticed and could get people to admit.

"Not at first," he said. "But I never really gave it to her, it's just always around, you know how college parties are."

"What college?" Will asked.

"Northwestern," Scott looked between the brothers. "So, she wasn't exaggerating, you really haven't talked to her in over a year."

"It's family business," Jay said as he turned to leave. "Call me when she's awake."

"She's kind of brilliant you know," Scott called after him. "She has a full scholarship, and she's kind, and generous, and she's funny, but she's humble, even though she's so beautiful. In short, she's amazing."

"What's your point?" Jay asked.

"I don't have a point," he shrugged. "I just wanted you to know what you're missing."

"Trust me kid, you don't know the whole story." Jay left the room and Will went after him.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "Aren't you going to stay?"

"I can't," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why not?" Will grabbed him, stopping him from leaving. "What is it?"

Jay stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm the oldest, I'm supposed to protect you two, and now she's lying in a hospital bed."

"You didn't do this."

"Didn't I?" He said. "When Mom was dying, you were off partying and I promised her I'd look out for you two, especially Hailey. She's nineteen, Will. Last time I saw her was two years ago when I was last home. She used to text me every now and then, but I was always so busy with work."

"So was I," he said. "We dropped the ball, but it doesn't mean we can't fix things now, especially now."

"Like I said, call me when she's awake." He said. "I'll figure it out."

OOOOO

Hailey woke up a few hours later. Her head was pounding, the lights were too bright and her mouth was dry. She frowned and grabbed her head as she struggled to sit up. She realized she was in the hospital and tried to remember what happened, but she couldn't remember anything.

"Hey," Scott whispered.

"Hey," she turned. "What happened?"

"You drank, a lot, and then you passed out and I couldn't wake you up." He said. "They said you took too many anxiety pills, but you'll be fine."

"Oh," she said slowly. "Is there water?"

"Yeah," He handed her the cup with a straw. "So, your brothers were here."

"What?" She said. "When?"

"Earlier, one was your doctor and the other is a cop?" He said. "You never told me that."

"Yeah, well, there's not much to tell." She mumbled.

"They're coming back later."

"Then we need to get out of here before they do." She said as she glanced around the room quickly before trying to get out of the bed.

"Woah, hang on," he said. "They seemed like alright guys."

"You wouldn't understand." She said. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"No, come on, Hailey," he sighed. "I'll call for help if you don't stop."

She rolled her eyes. "No you won't," she said as she pulled the IV from her arm and slipped on her shoes. She was really glad she wore flats last night because she was not steady enough for heels now. She slipped into the bathroom to fix her make-up and throw her hair up into a ponytail before heading for the door.

Scott sighed, but gave her his sweater and helped her leave the room. He figured if he didn't help she'd only end up hurting herself more. As they waited for the elevator he was praying someone would try and stop them, a wish he was granted when the doors opened to Jay and Will.

They all just stared at each other for a moment. It was awkward for everyone, but Will looked displeased and Jay looked almost amused. "Well," Jay said. "You always were a flight risk."


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are you going?" Will asked as he reached out to help steady her.

"Home, I'm fine," she said, pulling out of his grasp as she got onto the elevator. "So, you two can stop pretending you care about me now."

"Hailey, we know it's been awhile," Will said.

"Two years." She interrupted. "You don't know anything. You left for war, you left to work in New York, and as far as I'm concerned, you two never came back."

"We came back," Jay said.

"Yeah, when Mom was dying, not for me." She nodded. "And then you were gone like two seconds after the funeral, and Dad hasn't stopped drinking since. I left six months ago and he hasn't called, like father like sons, I guess."

"Hailey," Will said as she pressed the button to close the door.

"Just leave me alone, you already did it once." She said.

They watched the doors close, her face disappearing behind them. "What do we do?" Will asked. "I'm not leaving her alone now that I know she's not at home like I thought."

"No, something's up," Jay said. "We're missing something."

"Well, that sounds like a job for a detective," Will grinned at him.

Jay smirked. "I'll see what I can dig up," he said. "I'll call you when I find something."

OOOOO

Will headed into the district that afternoon and waited for Jay to get back from a call. He paced the office while he waited, unsure what to do with the information he had found. He wasn't looking for anything, it was an accident that he found what he did and now he didn't know what to do with it. Jay came through the door, closing it behind him, although he didn't look too worried.

"What's up?" He asked.

"After Hailey left, I had to discharge her and update her file, and when April went on the computer to do that, something came up." He said as he dropped the file on the desk.

Jay frowned at his brother before he picked it up and looked through it. "What is this?"

"It's a report doctors fill out that get flagged in the system for other doctors and other hospitals to see." He said. "It's used for domestic assault and child abuse cases."

Jay looked up at him and his eyes darkened. "She was assaulted?"

"Six months ago," Will nodded. "It says she came in with a fractured wrist but she had bruising on her side and down her arm, like if she had fallen into something."

"Or was pushed?" Jay asked as Will nodded.

"It wasn't all new bruising either, but she wouldn't say what happened." He said. "Scott was with her though, or at least someone matching his description was."

"I couldn't find an address for her, but I found one for him." Jay said. "And now I'm going to kill that kid."

"Jay, we don't know it was him." Will said as he followed him out of the office.

"Well, I'm going to find out." He said as he stopped at the desk. "Tell Voight I'll be back in a bit."

Platt didn't get the chance to make a sarcastic comment because Jay left so quickly. Will followed him out to the car, getting in, afraid he'd do something stupid if he didn't go with him. Besides, he wanted to see what Scott would say and figure out what really happened that night.

Scott lived in a high rise apartment, low income and mainly occupied by students. It was a three bedroom, but the building was run down and the neighborhood was dangerous. Jay climbed the steps with Will right behind him before he started banging on the door.

"Yeah?" A guy answered.

"Is Scott here?"

"Who's asking?" Jay flashed his badge and the guy backed up, letting them inside. "End of the hall."

Jay headed down the hall and walked right into the room without even knocking. He was so mad he never even saw Hailey sitting on the bed. He just grabbed Scott, who was sitting at his desk, and slammed him against the wall.

"Did you put a hand on my sister?"

"What?" He asked confused. "No, of course not."

"Because I swear to God if you hurt her, I'm going to hurt you." He said.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Six months ago, she shows up in the emergency room with a broken wrist and bruises, you were with her and she wouldn't say what happened."

"I didn't do that, I swear." Scott said as he looked at Hailey.

"No, don't look at her, look at me." Jay said. "If I find out different, they'll be no you to charge."

"Jay," Will said gently as he put a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't him."

Jay released Scott and turned to his sister. "Who was it?"

"It doesn't matter," she said.

"Who the hell was it, Hailey?" Jay said, raising his voice.

"You don't get to play the hero here,"

"Who!" Jay yelled at her. "Give me a damn name!"

Hailey jumped, taken a back by his sudden outburst. Will shook his head. "It was Dad." He said. "Wasn't it?"

Hailey glanced at him but didn't say anything, she didn't have to. "What?" Jay said, softly this time. He put his hands on his hips as he shook his head. "That's why you left. Where do you live?"

"Here," Scott said.

"Pack a bag. You're coming home with me." Jay said. "We can get the rest of your stuff another time."

"I'm not moving in with you." She said.

"Yeah, you are." Jay said. "You're too young to live with your boyfriend."

"You don't get to tell me what to do, Jay."

"Yes, I do. I'm your brother and I should have been looking out for you more. That's going to change, starting with right now." He said. "You shouldn't have to live here because you have nowhere else to go. I'm giving you somewhere else. I want you to not worry about rent, or food, or anything other than college like a normal student. Maybe, I can't make you stay, but I, we," he looked at Will. "We wish you would."

"We live together," Will explained. "It'd be nice to have you there too."

Hailey sighed. "One night."

"We'll take it." Will said before Jay could argue. "We'll wait for you outside."

Hailey watched them go before she turned back to Scott. "Sorry about that," she said.

"Are they always like that?" He asked.

"Rough and intrusive?"

"Protective," he clarified.

"I suppose," she shrugged. "When I was younger they were great, but then they left home and things were never really the same."

"Seems like they want things to be the same."

She grinned. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, never." He laughed. "I just know how hard things have been for you since the thing with your Dad and maybe they really do want to help."

"Maybe," she sighed as she grabbed a bag and threw some clothes and other things in. "I shouldn't keep them waiting long, they aren't very good at it."

"Yeah," he nodded. "I got that."

She smiled and kissed him goodbye before leaving the apartment. "Here, give me that." Jay said as he reached for her bag."

"I can manage," she said, sighing as he took it anyway.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked, keeping a close eye on her as they went down the stairs.

"I'm fine."

He sighed. "Hails, will you just talk to me?"

"I don't know how to talk to you anymore, either of you." She stopped outside the car. "If we're going to have any kind of relationship going forward you two need to understand that."

"We do understand that," Jay said. "But you should know that just because it's been awhile, doesn't mean we forget about before."

Will opened the car door for her. "I'm only asking that you be honest with me about your health."

She looked at him and nodded slightly. "I just feel like I'm getting over the flu."

"That will pass," he said.

Hailey looked around curiously when they got to the apartment. It was nice and spacious, but it was definitely a guy's place. She was surprised they lived together, but a part of her wondered if she ever crossed their minds. They did have a spare bedroom, after all.

"So, since you left the hospital without being properly discharged," Will said as he grabbed his medical bag. "Do you mind if I make sure you actually are fine, as you say?"

"I guess," she said as she sat in the chair. Jay stood back, his arms crossed as he watched Will check her vitals. "You're making me nervous, standing there like that."

"Well, you made me nervous first." He said.

"Me too," Will said.

Hailey made eye contact with Will before glancing back at Jay. She frowned as she looked away from them. She hadn't thought about how seeing her like that must have made them feel. "Right, sorry."

Will smiled at her. "Can I see the anxiety medication you take?"

"The what?" She asked.

"We found prescription drugs in your system, Scott said it was anxiety medication." Will said.

"Oh, yeah," she nodded. "I don't have anymore."

Jay frowned. "So, if I check your bag right now I'm not going to find anything?"

When she didn't say anything he grabbed her bag off the counter and started going through it. He was surprised she didn't try to stop him, and he figured it was because something was really wrong. When he found the bottle he tossed them to Will.

Will was confused, confused at how Jay could treat their sister like any suspect off the street, but also confused at how he missed whatever Jay saw. He looked at the bottle, the prescription was in her name and it was for anxiety medication, but the date was from seven months ago. So, he opened the bottle and looked at the medication inside.

"Why do you take this?" Will asked.

"I couldn't sleep after Mom died," she said. "And then I used to get really stressed from school."

Will glanced back at Jay for a moment before he put his hand over Hailey's. "But the pills inside are not what's prescribed." He said.

"So, you tell me where I go wrong." Jay said. "Dad's been drinking, one night you got in the way, and he hurt you. You leave, go to the emergency where they give you pain medication for your injuries. But then you run out of your anxiety medication, and you can't get any more without Dad's insurance. You're not sleeping, so you ask some local dealer, some friend of a friend or someone's third cousin, and they give you that. How am I doing so far?"

"Bang on," she said quietly.

"So, what is it?" Jay asked.

Will sighed. "MDMA, there have been a few studies that show it might help with anxiety and depression, right now it's being tested for those with PTSD." He said. "But when you drink a lot and then take it, you severely dehydrate yourself and often black out. It's not particularly harmful beyond that, which is why she's alright."

"Did you know it was Molly?" Jay asked. "It's not like it would put you to sleep."

"You don't understand," she said. "I had no one except Scott, I was in pain and so depressed and it was the only thing that helped."

"Listen, whatever the reasons, we can help you now." Will looked over his shoulder at his brother, trying to stop an argument that was about to happen. "Right, Jay?"

Jay sighed and walked over, kneeling in front of her. "Yeah, Hails, of course we will help you, but you've got to stay here," he said. "Permanently."


	3. Chapter 3

When Hailey woke up the next morning it was early, but she couldn't get back to sleep. She decided to take a shower, she still didn't feel well and hot showers always helped her feel better. She headed back to her room to get dressed and heard the shower go on again a few minutes later.

She took her time getting ready, she had nowhere to be and she wasn't exactly sure what was in store for her. By the time she headed into the kitchen, Will was already showered and dressed and was making eggs. She didn't see Jay, but she could hear the shower running again. Will glanced over his shoulder when she walked in.

"Are you hungry?" He asked. "There's enough scrambled eggs for you."

"I'm not really an egg person. They kind of make me feel nauseous, most dairy does." She said, and then frowned. "Is that a medical problem?"

He smiled. "You probably just have a food sensitivity."

"So, I'm not dying?" She grinned at him. "Is there coffee?"

"Yeah, over there, and I saw some of the cinnamon raison bread you and Jay both love so much." He said. "Wait, do you still like it?"

"Yes," she smiled, happy he remembered as she put a piece in the toaster. "But only when it's toasted."

"Only way to eat it, put some in for me, will yeah?" Jay said as he came into the kitchen to join his siblings. He grabbed a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "What are you doing today, Hails?"

She shrugged. "Not sure yet, I don't have class today."

"Do you want to come to work with me?" He asked.

Hailey frowned. "Is that even allowed?"

"Sure, we have people do ride-alongs all the time." He said. "Come on, it will be fun."

"I have the day shift, we could get dinner tonight?" Will said.

Hailey looked at both of them, slightly suspicious. "Do you two think I can't stay alone?"

"I think you might be a little too good at being alone," Jay said. "So, do you want to come or not?"

"Yeah, I guess." She said as the toaster popped. "What could it hurt?"

"I work in a special unit now, though," he said as he handed her the peanut butter. "Things can get a little intense."

"That's an understatement," Will said. "They work the worst cases."

"What kind of cases?" Hailey asked.

Jay stepped away when he phone started ringing, but he wasn't gone long. "Time sensitive cases," he answered. "Come on, we have to go."

Hailey grabbed her bag and grinned at her brother. "Bye, Will."

"Bye Hails." He smiled.

Hailey followed Jay into the district. She tried not to look around at the people too much. She had a feeling no one knew about her and she didn't want to see the looks of confusion thrown at her. He headed up the stairs with a gate on the landing. He slipped his hand onto the monitor and she just looked at him, clearly unaware what it is her brother actually does.

He grinned at her as he opened the gate. "Welcome to the Intelligence Unit, Hails." He said.

"Intelligence?" She questioned as she walked up the stairs. "I've heard about this unit in class."

"Hopefully all good things," Lindsay said. "I'm Erin."

"Hailey," she said as she shook her hand.

"Erin is my partner," Jay said before he looked to Voight who was standing in the doorway of his office. "Hang on a second."

Hailey watched him go and then turned to Lindsay. "I'm not actually supposed to be here, am I?"

"Voight won't mind, he just doesn't like to be blindsided." She smiled as some of the guys came up the stairs. "Hey guys, this is Jay's sister, Hailey."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet the third member of the Halstead trio," Antonio said.

"Don't be intimidated by these boys, Hailey," Lindsay said as she pointed them out. "Antonio, Al, Adam, and Kevin."

"So much for the alliteration trend you had going there," Hailey said.

"I like to mix things up," Kevin said. "But that's probably why we go by last names around here."

"So, here's what we've got so far from the school bomb incident this morning," Mouse said, coming up the stairs with a file.

"Mouse?" Hailey asked.

"Hailey?" He turned at the sound of her voice, surprised to see her. He dropped the file on the nearest desk and opened his arms to her.

"I haven't seen you in forever," she mumbled into his chest, a huge smile on her face.

"I know," he said softly. "How are you?"

"Good," she said as they separated. "You?"

"I'm good," he nodded as he turned to Jay who was coming out of Voight's office. He frowned at his frowned as he pointed to Hailey. "I just want to check in on her? You couldn't tell me she was coming?"

"I didn't know if she would come," he said with a smile. "And I did want to check in when I asked you to look her up."

"So, that's how you found Scott's place." Hailey said.

"Is Scott the boyfriend?" Lindsay asked. "Poor guy."

"Shut up," Jay said with a grin as Voight came closer. "Hailey, this is Sargent Voight, Sarge, this is my sister, Hailey."

Voight nodded. "Nice to meet you Hailey."

"You too." She smiled slightly.

"Everything that's said in this room is confidential." He said as she nodded. "Alright, what do we know?"

Hailey listened to the case, to the questions asked, and to how the team put things together. She had never seen it done before and she was kind of amazed. It wasn't safe for her to actually ride along with her brother while he worked, so she stayed behind when they went out and caught up with Mouse.

When the team did come back, they had a kid with them and Hailey watched the exchange between him and her brother while she stood behind the two way mirror. In the moments when Jay was able to connect with him and get him to open up about the traumatic experience he went through, Hailey was reminded of the kind of person her brother really was.

Lindsay was watching Hailey listen to the conversation. "He talked about you before," she said.

"Really?" She asked.

"He has this picture of the three of you in his desk. I saw it once and he went on and on about his brother the surgeon and his little sister who's going to change the world." She said.

Hailey frowned. "Did he tell you we haven't spoken in a year?" She said as she started through the glass. "I used to talk to him every week or so, but then he started missing my calls and he'd take days to reply to a simple text. It got to the point where I'd see how long it would take him to reach out to me if I didn't initiate the conversation. Eventually I just gave up, the rejection of waiting around for him to get back to me was just too painful."

"From the way he talked about you," Lindsay shook her head. "You'd think you were his whole world."

Lindsay looked at Voight, who nodded for her to step out. "Listen, Hailey, I have this thing about helping out kids so they get a second chance." He explained. "I know what happened with you and your Dad, and I know you're still upset with Jay for not being there and I don't blame you. I want to help you, so anything I can do, you let me know."

Hailey was quiet for a moment. "Did you know about me?"

"I found out when your brother Will came to in," he said. "Jay's good police, one of the best, but he's pretty private about his personal life. Sometimes in this job you have to put a little distance between you and those you love most."

OOOOO

Jay came home late that night. Will had picked Hailey up from the district, but Jay needed to wrap things up. When he finally got home, he found Hailey on the couch watching Netflix. He sighed as he sat down on the couch with her. It had been a long day and he was exhausted, but he needed to check in with her.

"Where's Will?" He asked.

"He got called in, some emergency," she said. "Left about an hour ago."

"Do you have class tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah, at eleven."

Jay frowned as he glanced at his watch. "Little late isn't it?"

"I can't sleep."

"Will is working on renewing that prescription." He said.

"It's not that," she said.

"Then, what is it?" He asked.

She looked at him, she did want to tell him, but she wasn't sure how to. "Did you tell Dad I was here?"

"Will told him you were staying with us, yeah," he said. He tilted his head slightly, trying to get her to make eye contact. "He's not going to hurt you again."

"You don't know that," she mumbled. "He doesn't even know that."

"What happened that night anyway?"

"Which time?" She looked at him. "The first time he thought I was her, he grabbed my arm so hard I was sure he'd break it. He wouldn't let go, not matter how hard I tried to pull away or tell him that she was gone. The second time he was passed out downstairs on the couch and I swear I thought he was dead. I woke him up and I tried to help him get up but he pushed me and I fell into the side of that old wooden coffee table. And then the third time, the last time, I woke up to one of his drunken rampages. I used to hide his keys, but he wanted to visit her grave, even though it was the middle of the night. I tried to get him to go to bed, but he fought me and we were on the stairs and I fell."

"Down the stairs?" Jay said. "Hailey, he could have killed you."

"He's not some horrible person, Jay. He just can't live without her." She said. "But I couldn't live with him anymore."

"I wish you would have called me, or Will." He said. "I'm always going to be here for you, and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn't come to me."

"Thanks," she nodded. "I'm going to stay, if you still want me to."

"Yeah?" He asked. "What changed your mind?"

"You did," she said. "I used to think you went to war and you left my brother over there, but watching you today with that kid proved that you're still who I remember."


	4. Chapter 4

Hailey was fine, a little shook up, but she was fine. Everything happened so fast. One minute she was on the train, scrolling through her phone, and the next thing she knew she was on the floor. It took her a minute to realize what had happened and to snap out of it and get up. She looked around, it seemed like everyone was hurt.

A man was suddenly in front of her. "I'm a doctor, can I have a look?"

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Your head, it's bleeding." He said as he put his hands on her head. "That needs stitches, but you'll be alright."

Hailey moved her hand to her head, wincing with a gasp as pain suddenly shot through her. The doctor turned back around, but she shook her head. "I'm fine, it's nothing."

He nodded and disappeared through the train to help the other passengers. She didn't want to go to the hospital, but she couldn't avoid it, no matter how much she insisted she was okay, she was still taken with the others. The hospital was packed and she did her best to not be seen by her brother. He'd just overact and he had worse patients to look after.

"Are you becoming a frequent flyer?" April said with a grin when she came into the room.

"Apparently," she half smiled. "Do me a favour? Don't tell Will, okay?"

"Not up for the protective brother today?" She said. "He means well."

"I know," Hailey shrugged. "I just don't want him worried about me when he's at work."

The door opened and the stranger from the train stepped into the room, looking down at the chart. "Hailey, I'm Dr. Rhodes." He grinned as he looked up from the chart. "Now, you I remember. Are you still fine?"

"Pretty much," she said. "I have this cut and I got knocked around a bit, but that's all."

"Mind if I make sure that's true?" He asked and she let him examine her. "Well, you were probably thrown into something and have some bruising here on your side, possibly your wrist too, but nothing is broken."

"Told you," she smiled.

"I still have to stitch you up though," he said as he grabbed the tray. She winced a bit at the needle, but relaxed as he began. "So, is there a reason you didn't fill out the forms with your last name?"

"Clever, wait until you have a needle in my face before you ask me questions." She said. "I know April filled it in, even though I told her not to, which means you have access to my history."

"True, and if I didn't actually see you on the train I'd probably be more suspicious." He said. "I also know you don't have an emergency contact listed. What about your parents?"

"My Mom's dead and my Dad hasn't stopped drinking since," she said.

"There's no one else?" He asked. "You probably have a concussion, so I'd rather you didn't leave alone."

"I have brothers, but their jobs are a little intense so I don't want to pull them away."

"Why not?"

The door opened and the curtain was ripped back as Will stood there with his hands on his hips, frowning down at his sister. "That's why." She mumbled.

"Can I help you Dr. Halstead?" Dr. Rhodes said, unaware what was going on. "Would you like to question me about my stitching skills?"

"What makes you think I wouldn't find out you were here?" He asked her, ignoring Dr. Rhodes.

"I didn't want you to worry." She said.

"You don't get to make that decision for me." He said with a raised voice. "And you don't get the right to tell a nurse to keep it from me either."

"Dr. Halstead, we're a little busy here." Dr. Rhodes said. "Whatever personal business you two have going on, this is not the time."

"Jay is coming to get you, we'll talk about this at home." He said as he left the room.

"The suspense is killing me," Dr. Rhodes joked.

"He's my brother," she said with a smile. "I already surprised him once in the emergency room. I didn't want to do it again."

"I can see why," he said. "Family relationships can be a little rocky."

"I hadn't seen him in a couple years so we're trying to figure it out." She said. "I got used to being on my own, not counting on anyone, but they kind of stepped back into my life like nothing happened."

"I know that feeling," he said. "But maybe it will work out."

"Yeah," she smiled as he finished. "Maybe."

The door opened again and Jay walked in this time. Hailey scanned his face but didn't get much of a read, his years of military service and working undercover allowed him to mask just about any emotion he was feeling. She knew he wasn't upset though, and she wasn't worried about his reaction being like Will's.

"You alright?" Jay asked, dropping a hand down the back of her head before slinging a protective arm around her. She nodded and he frowned just a bit. "Good, let's try to break this habit of me picking you up in the hospital."

"The other brother, I assume, Jay?" Dr. Rhodes asked as he noticed his badge on his hip. "Detective?"

"Intelligence," he nodded. "Can I take her home?"

"You can, she has a mild concussion and some bruising, but other than that she checks out." He said as he turned to Hailey. "Take it easy for a few days, alright?"

She nodded and let Jay lead her from the room and out to the car. She was glad Will was still busy and didn't see them leaving. Jay guided her into the car, she wanted to say she didn't need the help, but it was kind of nice.

"Why were you even on the train, I thought you had class?" He asked when he started driving.

"And how do you think I get to class?" She glanced at him. "It's not like I have a car."

"Alright, Hails, I don't need the attitude."

"Well, I don't need the accusing tone from you." She said. "I was in the hospital, it's not like you picked me up from jail and this is exactly why I didn't want either of you to know."

Jay was quiet for a moment and Hailey sighed as she looked out the window. "You know we just worry about you, right?"

"Where was that worry two years ago, and last year, and six months ago?" She asked. "It's not worry Jay, it's guilt and you're putting it on me. I didn't do anything wrong, you two did, so you two can figure out how to deal with it."

"Just because I feel guilty for losing touch, doesn't mean I don't worry about you now." He said as they parked in front of the district.

Hailey got out of the car and followed him inside. They barely made it through the gate before Jay was leaving on a call. She sat at his desk and looked around the unit. It was eerily quiet with everyone gone. She logged onto her student account, checking for the notes for her classes and email her professors.

Curiosity got to her and she opened the desk drawer to look for the picture that Lindsay told her about. She wanted to know if it was true, and underneath a file, there it was. She pulled it from the desk and looked closely at it. It captured a rare moment when they all seemed to be happy.

"Is that the Christmas picture?" Mouse asked as he came out of the other room. "He had that with him over there."

"Feels like another life," she said. "And sometimes like it was someone else's memory."

Mouse studied her for a moment. "You never forgave him for leaving, did you?"

"It wasn't the leaving part I didn't understand," she said as she put the picture back. "It was the staying gone."

He grabbed a chair and sat across the desk from her. "Over there, it's hell on earth," he shook his head. "The things we saw, the things we did, I don't even want to think about it let alone talk about it. We came back and everything here was still the same, like nothing happened, because it didn't for people here. It's hard to come back the same person and pretend like everything was good."

"Mouse, I know you were there for him when no one else was, and I know I was just a kid, but that's the point." She said. "I was just a kid when she died and Jay and Will walked out and left me alone, with him. Jay knew what he was like, and he just left me there."

"He feels really guilty for that." He said. "And he wants to make it right."

"That's the problem, Mouse." She shook her head. "He doesn't want to, he feels like he has to. If he wanted to make things right he would have answered my calls, and when I stopped calling he would have come and found me. Everyone around here tells me how he talked about me and had my picture, but that just makes it worse to know that he chose to stay away."

"I don't think I'm the one you need to be talking to about this," he said. "I will say that it may have been easier for him to stay away. I'm not saying it was right and this may not make sense to you, but it wasn't personal."

"I know," she sighed. "But, didn't it ever cross his mind to find out if I was okay?"

"Of course it did," Jay said from the top of the stairs. He walked over to them, stopping briefly at his desk as he looked at Mouse and then turned to his sister. "Come here,"

Hailey followed Jay to one of the break rooms. He closed the door and sat down at the table with her. "I didn't mean for you to hear that," she said.

"No, but you did mean it." He sighed. "Look, Hails, I know you resent me for leaving and I wish I could take it all back. I guess I just thought because I came home, that was enough."

"It was, until you stopped coming around." She said. "It felt like I had no one, Jay. I used to call you and you wouldn't answer, and I'd text you and you'd take forever to get back to me. I stopped reaching out because I couldn't handle the pain of not hearing back from you."

"I have no excuse for that, or any of it, and I'm sorry." He said. "But all you need to know is that I'm here now and that I love you."

Hailey smiled. "I love you too."

OOOOO

Will came home later that night to what looked like an empty apartment. He knew Jay was probably just working late and he wasn't sure where Hailey was. He felt bad for getting upset with her at the hospital, but he was still a little mad that she tried to hide it from him.

The bathroom door opened and Hailey stepped out. She was wearing a hoodie and yoga pants with her hair thrown up in a ponytail. Her eyes were red and it was clear she had been crying, in fact she was still crying some but she tried to hide it once she saw him.

"Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong?"

She shrugged, shaking her head as she started to cry again. "It's a long story," she said.

Will frowned and hesitantly wrapped her in a hug, holding her as she cried. "Come on," he said as he pulled her to sit on the couch. "I'm a pretty good listener."

"Have you ever been in love with someone who doesn't love you back?"

"Well, yeah, I think everyone has had feelings that aren't reciprocated."

"I don't mean like a crush you have on a stranger, I mean you're actually in love with someone who doesn't see you in the same way."

Will frowned. "I'm a little lost here, Hails, what's this about?"

"Scott and I aren't together like people think." She said. "He's one of my best friends and I've been in love with him for like a year, but we're not really official."

"But, you lived with him?" He said. "And at the hospital he told me you were his girl."

"He didn't want you to think I had no one." She said. "We're just really close friends, he's always been there for me, and he knew about our family. So, when the stuff happened with Dad, I called him and he brought me to the hospital. He knew I didn't have anywhere to go, so he let me stay with him."

"Oh," he nodded, understanding the type of relationship his sister was in.

"We had plans tonight, but I haven't heard from him. He's not answering my calls, and this happens all the time, even when I lived with him he'd disappear sometimes." She said. "He always has a reason, and I always forgive him because I'm so in love with him I can't stand not being with him."

Will sighed. "Sometimes guys, especially young guys like Scott, they're stupid when it comes to relationships."

"Maybe I'm the stupid one," she mumbled. "Waiting around for something that's probably never going to happen."

"Hey," Will ran a hand down the back of her head and leaned in a bit. "You did nothing wrong, okay? Whatever Scott has going on, his mistakes are his mistakes, it's got nothing to do with you, but he does care about you, trust me."

"I know he cares about me. I just don't think he loves me." She said. "So, what am I supposed to do? Wait around? Walk away?"

"You do whatever you think is right," he said. "When you love someone, it's hard to walk away, no matter how much they hurt you."

"I feel like I'm never going to be able to walk away unless he tells me we're never going to be together, because somewhere inside of me I honestly believe we're meant to be together." She said as she looked at him. "I can't explain it, I just know."

"Sometimes it's the right person at the wrong time, but it doesn't mean it won't work out, or it can't work out." Will said. "But, I don't like seeing you crying over a boy, so if it happens to often I may have to hurt him."

Hailey smiled. "Thanks, Will, for listening."

"Yeah," he said as he pulled her close, kissing her head. "Always, Hails."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Hails, it's not a good time. I'm stuck at work and I'm right in the middle of a case." Jay said when he picked up his ringing cell. "Can I call you back?"

"Jay," she said slowly, immediately alerting him. "Can you come pick me up?"

"Where are you?" He asked, already on his feet and heading for the door.

"At this party by the University," she said. "I wouldn't bother you, but it's not the best neighbourhood and I'm kind of scared to leave by myself."

"You're not bothering me, are you okay?" He asked as he grabbed his jacket and headed down the stairs. "Did something happen?"

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head. "I just don't want to be here anymore, and I may have taken something."

"What do you mean you took something?" Jay said a bit harsher than necessary as he got into his car.

"I take pills at parties, Jay." She said. "It's not smart, but it's college."

Jay sighed. "Yeah, alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. Stay inside until I get there."

He hung up and threw his phone roughly into the console, just as his passenger door opened and Lindsay got in. "I'm coming, we're partners remember."

"This isn't work related."

"We're not only work partners," she said. "Let me come, you might need my help."

"Fine," Jay said and started driving. He was silent for a few minutes, he was worried but he was also upset. "She's nineteen."

"Yeah, she is." Lindsey nodded. "Which means she's an adult, but she's a very young adult and she still needs you."

"Does she?" Jay asked as he parked the car outside the run-down apartment building.

"She called, didn't she?" Lindsay said. "I'd say that's your biggest clue."

Hailey got into the back of the car, sitting behind Lindsay. Jay had turned around and was watching her. He waited for her to look at him and then he raised his eyebrows at her. "I'm fine," she sighed. "I just want to go home."

"Do you know what you took?" He asked.

"No, I was drinking and was handed something." She frowned. "It was probably just Molly, nothing too dangerous."

"We're going to the hospital first," he said as he turned back around and put the car in drive. "Will can check you out and make sure it was nothing dangerous."

"Jay, come on, it's not that big of a deal." She said. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I do this all the time."

"That's what I'm worried about." He mumbled.

"We see a lot of accidental overdose cases," Lindsay tried to explain. "Most of the times the friends and family say their loved one was fine, that they came home from a night out and they were talking and then they died in their sleep."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Save me the scare tactics. I'm not an addict, I just like to party, and if I die in my sleep, well there are worse ways to go."

"Hailey," Jay said harshly as he glanced at her. "That's not funny."

"It was a joke," she said. "But, Will is going to freak out."

"I'm not particularly happy here either, Hails." Jay reminded.

"Maybe, but Will has Dad's temper," she said. "Next time I'll just stay in the dangerous situation."

Jay sighed as he parked the car and turned around again. "Look, I'm glad you called me, and I know you're in college and you're going to drink and experiment. But, just because I know you do it doesn't mean I'm okay with it."

"Clearly," she said as she climbed out of the car. "Can we at least not go into emergency? I've been in there enough lately."

Jay agreed and took Hailey in through a separate entrance. She sat in one of the waiting rooms with Lindsay while Jay went to look for Will. They didn't do much talking. Hailey didn't feel that well and Lindsay could tell she wasn't in the mood for bonding. It wasn't that Hailey didn't like her, she did, but they weren't particularly close just yet.

April found Hailey before Jay got back with Will. He was in surgery, but April said she'd take care of Hailey while Jay waited for him. April took Hailey to an empty exam room and briefly checked her out before drawing some blood. She gave it to another nurse and stayed with Hailey in the room since she was alone.

"How are you feeling?" She asked her.

Hailey shrugged. "I don't know, high, tired, stupid."

"Hailey," she said softly. "Do you use drugs and alcohol because something else is hurting you?"

She nodded slowly. "Isn't that always why?"

"Usually, but self-medicating only covers up the problem temporarily." She said. "It's all still there after that high passes."

"I know," she said seriously. "But for a little bit, it's not."

"Maybe you should talk to someone," she said. "Like Dr. Charles."

"I've tried the talking thing before, it didn't work." She said. "Alcohol is cheaper and faster."

"And the drugs?" She asked.

"Alcohol takes the pain away, but then you're just numb. The drugs make me happy again."

April nodded with a frown on her face, she understood what she meant but she didn't know Hailey was in so much pain. She had seen a lot of addicts and alcoholics come through the ER, most of which were in a lot of denial, but Hailey wasn't. She knew exactly what she was doing and why, and that made April feel even more sad about it.

The door opened suddenly and Will came into the room with Jay close behind him. April glanced between Will and Hailey as the two just stared at each other. She left the room to join Lindsay in the hallway and Jay closed the door behind her. Will shook his head slightly as he pulled his stethoscope from his neck and placed one hand on her shoulder and the device on her back and listened.

"Any trouble breathing?" He asked.

"No."

He moved in front of her and checked her pupils with his mini flashlight before doing a quick neuro exam. "Any dizziness or nausea?"

"A bit."

There was a knock on the door and April opened it to hand Will her chart with the blood work results. Will glanced it over, a slight frown on his face as he read. "She's fine." He said to Jay before he moved to leave the room.

"Wait," Hailey called.

"I'm at work, Hailey, trying to save people who actually want to live their lives." He snapped at her. "What's this about, huh? Is it because of Scott, or do you just have no control?"

"Whoa, Will, come on," Jay frowned and shook his head at his brother before he turned to his sister. "What's this about Scott?"

"Ask her, I don't have time for this." He said as he left the room.

"Did Scott do something to you?"

"Uh, no." Hailey said, trying to keep her emotions in check. Will had hurt her feelings.

"Then what did he mean?"

"Scott and I have a causal relationship, we're not exclusive." She said. "I told Will about it the other week because I was upset that Scott was ignoring me."

"So, you're not actually together?"

"Nope," she said. "I want to be, but he's not really the relationship type. I'm in love with him and I can't walk away, no matter what happens. I haven't heard from him in a week, so I went out with my friends and tried to take my mind off of thinking about him constantly."

"Hails, come on, you deserve better than that."

"Do I?" She asked miserably as she jumped off the table and left the room.

Jay sighed, not sure what to say. He took Hailey home and headed back to work to finish the case. He wanted to stay with her, but she insisted she was fine and that Will would be home soon anyway. She wanted to be alone and collapsed onto the couch with a beer and her phone. She flipped through the channels before giving up and deciding to sit in the window ledge and stare out into the night. Her phone ringing brought her out of her thinking and she glanced down to see his name.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, sorry I've been so MIA lately, things have been kind of crazy lately with school and work." Scott said. "We should get together soon, I miss you."

"Yeah," she frowned. "I miss you too."

"You okay?"

"No, not really."

"What's wrong?"

"Can you come here?" She asked. "I'm alone, and I'm sad, and I need you."

"Yeah, I'll come right now."

She hung up and continued to stare out the window. She heard the door open and Will walked in, flipping on the hall light. She was still sitting in the dark, she liked it better that way. He glanced at her, noticing her clutching her phone.

"Don't wait around for someone that makes you wait around," He said as he pulled the phone from her hands and set it on the table as he sat down on the couch.

Hailey ignored him. She was still upset with him for what he had said to her at the hospital. She grabbed her phone off the table and headed toward the door. She opened it and Scott walked in, wrapping her in a hug as Will was suddenly on his feet.

"What is he doing here?" Will asked.

"Why do you care? You don't have time for me, remember?" Hailey said as she pulled Scott into her room and closed the door, locking it.


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you mean she locked herself in her room?" Jay said when he got a call from his brother. "I'm at work here, on a timeline, can't you handle it?"

"She won't come out." Will said. "Scott came over and they went in there and I can't get her to open the door."

"Well, leave them alone." Jay said. "She's nineteen Will, we can't control everything she does."

"Maybe not, but we should control situations that will get her hurt." Will snapped. "That kid isn't good for her and you know it."

"Yeah, maybe, but she has to make her own mistakes. How many times did you date the wrong woman in high school and college?" Jay reminded. "Besides, he was there for Hailey when we weren't, she trusts him and right now she's not talking to us."

"Jay, she got drunk to take her mind off of him and she landed in the hospital." Will said. "This isn't a healthy relationship."

"No, I brought her there and you said she was fine." He said. "She loves him Will, and it's none of our business."

"She's physically fine, not mentally fine." Will sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look, I'm just getting off a long shift and I'm tired. I'm worried about her and she won't listen to me."

Jay frowned. "What aren't you telling me?"

"There was a woman that came into the ER with a do not resuscitate and I ignored it," he explained. "She has end stage cancer, she's tried everything and I was able to get her on this new trial. I looked at her and I saw Mom and I didn't want her to give up."

"Did you get fired?"

"No, but I might." He said. "She's pressing charges against the hospital and me. I just found out."

"And, what happened with that patient that reminded you of Mom, would that have anything to do with how you snapped at Hailey today?"

"I snapped at Hailey because she needed it to hear it." Will said. "She has a problem with drugs and alcohol, Jay."

"And why do you think that is, Will?" Jay said, matching his tone. "I'm not blind, and it's not like I'm okay with her choices, but she's been through a lot."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to be okay with everything?" He asked. "She has been in the ER three times in the last few months."

"Okay, but one of those times was a train accident and tonight wasn't the ER, and technically she was fine tonight I just wanted her checked out."

"It doesn't matter, all three times she had drugs in her system." Will said. "And not even the same drug, but a cocktail of drugs, which is far more dangerous."

"Will, I know all of this, but what do you want to do?" He asked.

"I want you to come home so we can talk to her."

Jay sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm on my way."

Will hung up the phone and started pacing the floor, waiting for Jay to get home. He could hear the TV on in Hailey's room and knew it was drowning out whatever conversation she was having with Scott.

He shook his head, he wanted to pound on the door until one of them opened it, but he knew Hailey was too stubborn for that. He already tried everything he could think of, yelling, talking nicely, bargaining, but nothing worked. Calling Jay was the only thing he could think of besides breaking the door down or trying to take it off the hinges, and even he thought that was extreme.

Suddenly the bedroom door opened, surprising Will, especially when Scott walked out and shut the door quietly behind him. "She's asleep," he said. "I'll go, if you want me to."

"I want you to," Will nodded, but then sighed. "Why did she call you?"

"She didn't, I called her and then she asked me to come over."

"What are you two?" Will asked. "You're not together, yet you act like you are."

Scott shrugged. "We're really good friends, and I really care about her."

"She's in love with you, do you know that?" He blurted out. "And, you're hurting her with whatever commitment issues you have."

"I don't have commitment issues, but yeah, I know she has feelings, or she thinks she has feelings."

"And, you're okay playing with her feelings?"

"I'm not playing her. She knows I'm not looking for a relationship right now." Scott frowned. "And, not that I have to tell you this, but part of the reason Hailey and I aren't together is because I don't know if she actually wants me, or she just wants someone in her life who is there for her."

Will frowned. "Jay and I are here."

"You're here now, you weren't here before." He said. "I met Hailey the first week of classes. We sat next to each other in a lecture and she's been one of my best friends ever since."

"And we're thankful that you've been there for her when we couldn't be," Jay said from the doorway. "If Hailey wants you here, you should stay here."

"Jay," Will interrupted. "I think we should talk to Hailey alone."

"We can do that tomorrow, Will." Jay said as he opened Hailey's door slightly, peaking in and then closing it again. "She's asleep anyway, and that's where I am going."

"Fine whatever," Will mumbled and disappeared into his room.

Scott hesitated. "I'm really not sure what to do here."

"If Hailey expects you to be here when she wakes up, you should stay." Jay said as he clapped him on the shoulder and disappeared into his own room.

Hailey and Scott woke up a few hours later. They both had class early the next day, and they both had problems sleeping and often functioned on less than the average person. Will and Jay were still sleeping when they left and Hailey had no intention of waking either of them. She left a note on the white board in the kitchen to remind them that she had class before they left.

Jay woke up before Will to head to work. He had gotten a call about Yates escaping prison and immediately went in to work on it. He saw Hailey's note and realized that maybe he should have woken her up to talk now that he didn't have time to this morning, he didn't want her to think he was blowing her worries and feelings off.

He thought he'd be able to take his mind off family drama while at work, but when he visited the crime scenes of the dead nursing students and then ended up at the college interviewing more students, he couldn't get Hailey off his mind. He never had this problem at work before, usually he could focus on the work and deal with his private life at home, but today was different.

"Halstead," Platt called when he came back into the district. He turned and she nodded to the room off the stairs where Hailey was currently pacing around in.

"Hey," Jay frowned when he opened the door and she immediately hugged him. "Hails, what's wrong, what are you doing here?"

"My classes were cancelled this afternoon, killer on the loose and all," she said as they separated. "And, so I was going to go home but I heard all these students were getting killed and I was scared, and then I heard you were going after him, and I got worried, and then I started feeling guilty because of last night, and so, I came here."

Jay smiled slightly at her rant and nodded. "It's okay, I was going to come get you anyway."

"You were?" She asked.

"Yeah, sometimes this job reminds you to hold your family a little closer." He said. "How about we grab some lunch and talk?"

Jay slung an arm around her and brought her upstairs. She sat in the break room while he gathered some food and let the unit know that he was just in the other room. He was still working and the case was still time sensitive, but he did his part and all he could at this point and decided to take a little break for family sake, something no one has an objection to.

"So, we ordered some Chinese food and the rest is from the vending machines," he said as he dumped the food on the table.

"Thanks, I'm not that hungry though," she said as she grabbed the can of diet coke.

"Come on, eat something," he said. "You're looking a little thin, Hails."

She smirked. "That's a compliment to a girl, you know."

"Maybe, but I didn't mean it as a compliment." He said as he handed her a container and sat down beside her. "Alright, we need to talk about the drugs."

Hailey frowned and shook her head as she picked at the food. "I'm not addicted." She said. "I know it might seem like that, but it's not like that."

"I don't think you're addicted, Hails." He said. "I do think that you take drugs to feel better and that can led to addiction. It's dangerous and it scares me."

She was quiet for a few moments before she looked at him. "When I started college, I was living in a dorm and my roommate was a partier. She got me a fake ID and we started clubbing and it seemed like every party I went to had Molly and coke at it. It didn't seem like a big deal to do it on the weekends, my grades were fine and I was fine. But, then Dad hurt me and I started taking Molly like anti-depressants and now it takes more and more to get high and stay high, and the more I take, the harder I crash."

"The high is high, but the low is lower." He nodded. "You called me last night when you were coming down, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and it was really bad." She said. "It scared me."

Jay rubbed her back for a moment. "Maybe it's time to stop then." He said. "And, maybe it's time to talk to someone impartial to our life and your situation."

"Like, Dr. Charles?" She smiled. "Maybe it is."

"I'm here, always, Hails." He said as he kissed her head. "I love you."

"I love you too, Jay." She leaned into his embrace. "Do you think Will will be this easy to talk to?"

"Something tells me he will be," Will said from the doorway before he moved to sit down at the table with them. "I didn't mean it yesterday when I said I didn't have time for what was going on with you. I had a bad day at work and I took it out on you, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, for ignoring you when you came home." She said. "I could tell you felt bad and you wanted to talk, but I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me."

"Fair enough," he nodded. "But, maybe we shouldn't do things like that to each other anymore. And, for what it's worth, Scott isn't so bad."

"Yeah, he told me you two talked last night." She said. "And, maybe you can talk to one other person for me, Dr. Charles?"

Will smiled. "I can do that, Hails."

"Well, would you look at us," Jay said. "Functioning like a real family."


	7. Chapter 7

Hailey left Dr. Charles office after her first appointment. It wasn't easy talking about your problems, trying to make sense of who you are and understanding that there's a reason for everything you do. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she leaned against the wall of the hallway around the corner.

Dr. Rhodes noticed her as he came around the hallway. He didn't know much about her, he had only met her that one time on the train and in the hospital after, but he felt like he knew her. He had read her file and knew what she went through, knew she had a history with drugs and family problems, and he knew her brother. So, he stopped, just to make sure she was okay.

"Hailey," he said as he approached her. "Everything okay?"

"Hey, Dr. Rhodes." She smiled, trying to pull it together as she shrugged. "I'm just having a moment."

He frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Talking to Dr. Charles," she said slowly, watching his reaction. "You know, because I have some issues. You don't have to play dumb, you read my file, you're a doctor, I'm sure you figured it out."

He nodded as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall beside her. "I only know your medical history, it doesn't always tell the whole story."

"It's pretty much what it looks like."

"Did he help?" He asked. "He's pretty good at what he does."

"I think so, he's trying to anyway." She said. "It's just that in order to get help and feel better, you need to go through all the reasons that brought you here and that's hard. It's really hard."

"It is, but it's hard for everyone." He said. "There's no shame or judgement in it and you'll get there."

"I spent a lot of time trying to convince Jay and Will that I didn't have a problem and that I wasn't addicted, because that's what I believed. Jay, he believed me, because I think it was easier for him. He blames himself, but Will," she shook her head. "He knew, even before I did."

"Sometimes, some people aren't addicted to the drug, but the high." He said. "And those people are usually trying to escape something, but it's those people that can figure it out."

"Well, I certainly hope you're right." She sighed. "Do you know where my brother is?"

"I think we can track him down," he grinned. "Come on."

Hailey followed him down to the Emergency Room. They got stopped a few times, people asking him questions and his advice on certain patients. Once they were downstairs she glanced around the room, quickly scanning for him. It was busy, it was always busy, but it wasn't as crazy as it had been other times she was there.

Will was standing at the nurse's station. He was finishing up some paperwork and he didn't notice her at first. He was frowning, and she suddenly wondered if this was a bad time, or if he'd be okay with her coming down here to see him. He nodded with a small smile as he handed the chart to a nurse and looked up, spotting her before she could change her mind. He headed over to her rather quickly, still frowning slightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked when he got to her, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at her. "Are you okay, why are you here?"

"I'm fine," she said. She couldn't blame him for being worried considering the last three times she showed up when he was working she wasn't okay. "I was just upstairs talking to Dr. Charles."

"Oh, yeah?" He relaxed and nodded toward an empty meeting room. He ushered her into it gently, and closed the door behind them. "How'd that go?"

"Good, I mean it wasn't easy, but it's a start."

"Yes, it is." He nodded. "Hailey, I'm proud of you for doing this for yourself."

She nodded, frowning slightly before she hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her head in his chest. "Thank you," she mumbled.

He frowned heavily as he held her. "For what?" He asked.

"Not giving up on me," she said.

Will closed his eyes for a moment and dropped his chin to rest on the top of her head. "I will never give up on you," he said. "It'll be okay, Hails."

OOOOO

Hailey woke up in the middle of the night. She was alone in the apartment. Will was working overnight and Jay was working late. She wasn't sure if she was just hearing things, startled from the nightmares that had been plaguing her dreams, or if someone was actually trying to get into the apartment. She wished Scott was there in that moment, she was never afraid when he was around.

She thought about calling him, or Will, or Jay, anyone that would make her feel safe, but she had a hard time asking for help. She didn't want to bother anyone, especially if she didn't have anything to be scared of. But then she heard the banging again, this time while awake, and this time it was clear and followed by a voice that she recognized all too well.

She jumped out of her bed, locking her bedroom door and grabbing her phone as she hid in the closet. She sunk down to the floor as the banging continued and called the first person she could think of. It was late, but she knew there was no way he wouldn't answer her call.

"Hey," Jay said with a frown when he answered the call, confused at why she was calling him so late. He immediately looked at Erin who was sharing his confused look.

"Jay, he's here." She said. "You need to come home."

"Who's there?" He asked and then he heard it, muffled yelling and banging and he was on his feet, grabbing his coat and heading for the stairs. "Hailey, what's going on? Who's there?"

"It's Dad," she said. "He's going to get in and I'm scared, Jay. Please come home."

"I'm on my way, Hails." He said, with Erin right behind him. "Don't open the door, where are you?"

"In my closet." She said.

"Good," he nodded. "Is your door locked?"

"Yeah, but what if he gets in somehow?" She said. "Does he have a key? I don't have the chain on because you and Will aren't home. Could he tell someone he's our Dad and get in? Jay, what do I do?"

Jay was trying to stay calm, but the fear in her voice and her pleas worried him as he raced home. "Don't do anything, I'll be there soon." He said. "Stay in the closet, he won't get in."

"Don't hang up," she said. "I'm scared, Jay."

Jay hit the steering wheel in frustration, wishing he could get to her faster. "I'm not hanging up, I'm almost there." He said as he glanced at Erin in the passenger seat. "Erin is with me, she'll call Will and get him there."

Erin nodded and made the call as they raced through the streets. She knew he probably wouldn't answer his cell, so she called the hospital and requested him, stating it was a family emergency. "Will, it's Erin," she said. "I'm with Jay, headed to your apartment. If you can, you need to meet us there."

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Your Dad is there, trying to get in and Hailey is scared and upset." She said. "Hank and Antonio are behind us, but she might need to see you."

"I'm leaving right now," he said.

Jay heard a sudden crash on the other end of the phone, more yelling and he was instant worried as he finally stopped at the front of the apartment. "Hailey, talk to me," he said. "What's going on?"

"He's inside," she whispered.

"I'm inside too, I'm coming to you, don't worry."

The line went dead as Jay raced up the stairs with Erin behind him. There were some neighbours at their doors, curiously peeking out and wondering what was going on. As he came to the door, he noticed the whole by the handle where his Dad must of punched through and unlocked the door.

He was inside the apartment, yelling out for Hailey. It was obvious he was drunk, Jay was careful as he approached him. He wasn't sure why he was here, or what he wanted, or what he was capable of doing, but in the moment all he remembered was what he did to Hailey.

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Jay asked.

"Where is she?" He said. "I know she's here."

"She's not here, anymore." Jay lied. "She lives with her boyfriend."

"You're lying," he yelled. "Will told me she was living with you. It's time for her to come home now."

"Why? So you can throw her down the stairs again?" Jay glared at him. "Yeah, I know about that and everything else too. You need to get some help, Dad."

"Who's that?" He asked, pointing at Erin as he stumbled around. "That's your girl? Hold onto her, sometimes they leave, like your Mother."

"Mom died, she didn't leave." He said.

"Mr. Halstead?" Jay turned, realizing the hallway was now very crowded. "My name is Dr. Charles, I work at Chicago Med with your son, Will. I think I can help you."

"I don't need a shrink, I just need to talk to my daughter." He said.

"I understand you want to, but Hailey is not ready to talk to you." He said. "This isn't the right time and if you let me, and these fellow officers, help you, we might be able to arrange something for later."

He looked around and knew there wasn't much else he could do to fight it. There were too many people and with a nod from Will, he left the apartment with Dr. Charles, Hank and Antonio. Will followed them downstairs to make sure nothing else happened. They would take him to the hospital, no one was pressing charges, but he couldn't just go home alone in his state.

Jay knocked softly on the bedroom door once everyone had left the apartment. "Hails, he's gone." He called and heard the door click and open slowly. The second he saw her, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

"Why did he want to see me so bad?" She asked. "He hasn't reached out at all."

"I don't know, but I'll make sure you're safe from now on."

Will opened the door, coming into the apartment and noticed that Hailey immediately drew back. She was scared, not of him, but of their Dad. She was jumpy, and the brother realized it was worse than they thought. "Dr. Charles is going to hold him, see if they can get him to sober up and get some help."

"That's good," Jay said, still holding Hailey to his chest.

"Are you okay?" Will asked as he put his hand on her back. "Did he hurt you?"

Hailey shook her head. "I stayed in my room."

"Okay," Will nodded as he glanced at Jay. "We'll make sure he doesn't come by again like that."

Hailey nodded, the tears falling again as Jay stepped away to talk to Erin. "I was so scared."

"I know, sweetheart." He said as he took Jay's place comforting her. "We're not going to let him hurt you."

"Do you have to go back to work?" She mumbled. "I don't want to be alone."

"No, I'm staying with you," he said.

"I'm staying too." Jay said and glanced at Erin. "Erin too, we can talk about everything tomorrow once things have settled down."

"I don't know if I can sleep." Hailey said.

"Come on, you can stay with me," Will said.


	8. Chapter 8

Jay was working overtime, patrol at night, which meant he wasn't home, and neither was Will. They had been careful not to leave her alone at night for a while after the incident with their Dad. But, now their schedules overlapped and this was something they couldn't avoid. It was a test, Hailey needed to be able to stay alone, but she was still experiencing symptoms of trauma, unresolved issues from the multiple altercations she had with her father before she moved out. It was the right thing to do, but it didn't make Jay feel any better.

When they responded to a call with a family dead, and a helpless little girl that had survived, it pulled on every heart string he had. He had to stay until the others arrived, until they figured out what to do and he knew he'd be working this case back at Intelligence in the morning. He headed home as soon as patrol was over to change before he had to be back. He hadn't heard from Will or Hailey all night and he wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"Did you sleep?" He asked Hailey when he walked through the apartment door and saw her standing in the kitchen by the coffee maker.

She shrugged as she poured the mug, but as she turned around and he saw the dark circles under her eyes, he knew she hadn't. "Not used to seeing you in uniform," she smirked, trying to deflect the conversation. "Are you going back to work?"

"Yeah, caught a case on patrol," he nodded as he glanced at her class schedule on the fridge. "Do you want a ride?"

"I, uh," she stumbled. "I'm not going to class today."

Jay frowned as he dropped his bag on the floor. "Why not?"

"I'm thinking of dropping out," she said as she sat at the kitchen table.

"Dropping out of the class, or of school?" He asked as he put his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows at her. "It better be the former."

"Jay," she sighed and dropped her head into her hands, running them over her tired eyes. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he said as he sat beside her at the table and waited for a response. "Hails, I just worked all night and my last call was to a house with five murdered members of a family. Only one survived, a twelve year old girl who has no one left. You have me, and Will, let us help you."

Hailey looked up at him. "I can't be there," she said, struggling for the words as the tears pooled in her eyes. "There are too many people all the time, and he could be one of them."

"He's not going to come looking for you again," he said. "We'll take out a restraining order if we have to."

"It's just a piece of paper, Jay." She shrugged. "He knew you weren't here, and that Will wasn't here, and he came here."

"I know, but I'll talk to him and Will talked him into getting help."

"Yeah, from Dr. Charles," she nodded. "So, now he could be there too."

Jay reached for her hand. "We'll figure it out, but you can't just hide inside for the rest of your life."

Will walked into the apartment, dropping his keys and jacket on the counter and glancing at Jay and Hailey sitting at the table. It only took him a few seconds to realize this wasn't a friendly breakfast conversation. He looked from Hailey, who smiled weakly at him before avoiding eye contact, to Jay, who was clearly worried.

"Okay," he nodded as he sat down. "What's going on?"

Jay looked at Hailey. "Tell him."

Hailey shook her head and looked across the apartment, squinting at the light that was pouring in through the window. "I'm thinking of dropping out of college."

"Excuse me?" Will said. "No, absolutely not."

"It's not your choice, Will." She said. "You can't tell me what to do, it's my life."

"Tell him why, Hailey." Jay said firmly, not taking his eyes off of her. He could tell Will, but he wanted Hailey to say it because it was important that she was giving a voice to her fears.

"I can't be there, sitting in class or walking across campus like nothing happened, like Dad might not be there." She said. "He knew I was alone that night, so what else does he know?"

"He knows you live here, and if he wanted to come back, he probably would have." Will said. "Dropping out of school, running away because you're scared of him, that just lets him win. But there are no winners here, Dad has a serious problem and it's okay to be scared, but it's not okay to ruin your life for his mistakes."

Jay nodded. "He's right, Hails."

"So, what?" She asked. "I'm supposed to pretend he didn't break through that door?"

Will leaned forward to catch her eye contact. "You're supposed to live, and you're supposed to talk to us, and to Dr. Charles."

"I can't talk to him, Dad might be there." She snapped.

"No, he was referred to another doctor and he's actually in a treatment facility outside of the city." Will said. "I found out this morning."

Hailey looked from one brother to another. "So, he's not here."

"He's not," Will nodded.

"I want you to sleep," Jay said as he stood up. "Then, I want you to go and talk to Dr. Charles, and then I will talk to you tonight about school."

Will nodded. "I need sleep too. I will take you to Dr. Charles this afternoon."

"You're just going to decide my life for me?" Hailey asked.

"For today, yes." Jay said, kissing her head as he headed to the bathroom to shower quickly before heading back to work.

"You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?" Will asked as he studied her face. "We told you to call."

"Scott was here," she mumbled. "He left like twenty minutes before Jay came home."

"Ah, Scott," Will nodded. "What does he think about this plan of yours to drop out of school?"

"Pretty much what you said," she sighed. "He said I should get Jay to assign me a body guard."

"That's not a bad idea," Will said. "But Hails, if enough people tell you the same thing, don't you think they might be right?"

"I don't know, maybe." She said. "I still don't want to go to class today."

"Okay," he nodded. "But, we are going to see Dr. Charles later, so get some sleep."

"Will you watch a movie with me?" She asked.

He nodded. "I can do that."

By the time Jay came out of the shower, dressed and ready for work, he found Will and Hailey passed out on the couch. The TV was on, the sound was low and they were both covered in blankets. He knew she was exhausted, but she didn't feel safe enough to allow herself to sleep. It made him feel guilty, but he was also a little happy that Hailey had made enough progress to now consider being safe associated with being around him and Will.

OOOOO

Will was cleaning up later that afternoon while Hailey was in the shower. The apartment wasn't dirty, but the three of them had a tendency to leave their things all over the place. They all held the pattern of dropping their bag and jackets on the counter or table instead of putting them away.

While he was straightening up the kitchen, he grabbed his jacket off the counter and knocked Hailey's purse off in the process, its contents spilling over the floor. He knelt down to pick up the items, pausing when he noticed the bottle of pills. Will picked it up slowly, not wanting to know but not able to stop himself.

He was hoping it was a prescription from Dr. Charles, something she kept private, but he had a feeling that wasn't true. There was no label on the bottle, but he didn't have time to check what was inside because he heard the shower stop. Instead, he pocketed the bottle, finished cleaning up the mess and dropped her purse back on the counter before he slipped into his room to change.

"Hailey, we're leaving in fifteen minutes," he called out.

Hailey changed quickly, put on a bit of make-up and threw some moose in her naturally wavy hair. It didn't take her long to get ready if she was being casual, so she was ready in just about fifteen minutes. Will was ready and waiting for her by the door, trying to conceal his emotions until he confirmed what was in the bottle.

"I don't want to go," she said as she lingered by the door. It was a last ditch effort. "I'm tired, I just want to lounge around."

"You'll feel better if you leave this place for a little bit," he said. "Come on, you can't stay hold up in here forever."

"Will," she whined slightly and he knew an argument was on its way.

"Enough," he said sharply. "Hailey, this isn't a discussion anymore. Shoes and jacket on, now."

She sighed heavily. "Fine," she mumbled.

Will was tempted to bring up the pills so many times on the way to the hospital, but he knew if he accused her without really knowing, he ran the risk of pushing her away or having her shut him out. So, he bit his tongue and waited, got her in to see Dr. Charles before he went to identify the pills.

"It's birth control," April said, handing the bottle back to him.

"Birth control?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she nodded. "Hailey's?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I knocked her bag off the counter and I saw them, and I just panicked. I didn't want her going backwards."

"I don't think that's possible," she said. "You and Jay are good for her, she's happier now."

"You think?" he asked. "She wants to drop out of college after what happened with our Dad."

"Did you ever wonder if maybe she just wants some extra attention from you guys?" she asked.

"She said it's because she's scared he'll show up," he shrugged. "She's never really been one for wanting to be the centre of attention."

"It might be a pushing the limits thing. She's been through a lot, and she could never rely on anyone but herself, right?" She shrugged. "Maybe now that she has you two, she wants to see how far your concern goes."

"Well, I'll push back," he said. "I just want what's best for her."

"I know you do," she smiled. "You're that kind of guy, and so is Jay. Hailey just needs to be sure of it, so just be there."

"Thanks April," he smiled and nodded as Jay suddenly approached him. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Bringing Erin some clothes," he said. "Hailey talking to Dr. Charles?"

"She is," he said. "Do you have to head straight back to work?"

"No, I have some time," he frowned as he studied his brother. "Why, what's up?"

"I found some pills in Hailey's purse," he said.

"What?" Jay raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding me?"

"They turned out to be birth control, but I don't know, I think we need to keep an eye on her."

"We have been," he nodded. "But we can talk to her. Bring her by the district when she's done?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'll bring dinner."

The two brothers went their separate ways, both worried about their little sister.

OOOOO

Hailey followed Will into the police district to have dinner with Jay. They had brought food for everyone, but the three of them disappeared into the break room to eat alone. She knew something was up between them, but she wasn't sure what it was yet and it made her nervous.

They said at the table and divided up the food. After a few glances back and forth and some basic small talk, Hailey couldn't take the awkwardness anymore. "Okay, what's going on?" she asked. "Am I dying?"

Jay smirked. "No, but we wanted to talk to you, see how you're doing after talking to Dr. Charles."

"I'm fine," she sighed. "I'm tired of constantly being asked that."

Will glanced at Jay before he placed the bottle of pills on the table. "I found these in the kitchen this morning, while I was cleaning up," he said.

"You mean you found them in my bad while you were snooping," she scoffed. "They're birth control pills."

"We know," Will nodded. "I knocked your bag over by accident and they fell out. I didn't go looking for them."

"But," Jay interrupted before Hailey could start an argument. "The point is, we're worried you might back slide and start self-medicating again."

Hailey shook her head. "I really wish you'd give me just a little more credit," she got up to leave but Jay stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door. "I need to be alone."

"Hailey, you're not alone anymore." Jay said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's not about giving you credit, it's about giving you a safe environment. Like I said this morning, we're both here, we're right here Hails, let us help you."

Hailey stepped into his embrace and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm scared," she mumbled.

"I know, Hails." He tightened his hold on her for a moment before pulling her back and leaning down slightly. "We're here, always now."

"He's getting help," Will said as he reached for her hand and she turned to look at him. "You need to focus on you, keeping helping yourself. His mistakes are his, don't let them own you."

Erin knocked on the door, opening it slightly and sticking her head in. "Sorry guys," she said. "Jay, we've got a lead."

He nodded and turned back to Hailey, smiling as he kissed her head. "I'll be back." He said.

"I know," she smiled, watching him go before turning to Will. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

Will wasn't prepared for what happened later that night. Jay headed back out on a lead with their case, so he headed home with Hailey. She went out with some friends and he went to Molly's with some of his. He planned to pick her up later, something she wasn't too thrilled about, but he had insisted on keeping an eye on her. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and although she argued, he knew she was secretly okay with it.

"April," Will said as he answered his phone. "Where are you? We've been waiting on you."

"Will," she said slowly. "I'm still at work, and you need to get here."

"I'm not on call tonight, and I've been drinking, so I can't come in." He frowned. "What's going on?"

"No, the hospital doesn't need you," she said. "I'm calling you because you're next of kin."

"What?" He said slowly as he processed it all. Jay worked a dangerous job and he was deep in a case, but Hailey wasn't a stranger to hospitals, and his Dad was having a rough time lately. "Which one?"

"Jay was shot in the line of duty," she said. "They're bringing him into surgery now."

"I'll be right there," he said.

He was sitting at one of the booths in the middle of the bar, his back facing the door, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and his name from the deep voice of Voight. He turned and the look on his face sent a chill down his spine as he hung up the phone.

"Come on," Voight nodded. "I'll give you a ride to the hospital."

Will followed him out of the bar and into the SUV. "We need to get Hailey," he said. "She can't find out over the phone."

"Mouse tracked her phone," he said as he drove. "Antonio went to pick her up."

"How bad is it?" He asked.

"I don't know," he said. "The doctors said they're doing everything they can."

Will smirked. "That's just what we tell people," he said. "Especially, when it's bad."

"I've seen people come back from worse, people not nearly as strong as your brother." He said as he pulled into the parking lot. "Don't be a doctor in there, be a brother."

The second Will walked through those doors and into the waiting room, Hailey collided with him. She was a mess, a rambling, crying, overreacting disaster that Will didn't have time to fall apart himself. He just held her tightly against him as he looked to Maggie for answers.

"He was shot in the neck," she explained. "The bullet missed the artery, but barely, and they're working on him now. Will, he's your brother, and he's CPD, trust me, he's getting nothing but the best we have."

Will nodded. "Thanks, Maggie." He looked down at Hailey for a moment before glancing around the room full of officers. "Come on, let's talk for a minute."

Hailey let him guide her into one of the empty conference rooms. He shut the door behind him and sat her down in one of the chairs, kneeling in front of her. He was trying to be strong for her, but she knew he was worried too. "I'm scared, Will," she said through the tears. "What if he's not okay?"

Will put his hands on hers and looked right into her eyes. "He will be," he said. "It's Jay, he made it through a war, he'll make it through this."

"Are you trying to convince me or you?" She asked.

He grinned and wiped away her tears. "Both of us," he said. "We have to believe he'll be okay, but we need to lean on each other, so don't spiral with this."

"I'll try," she nodded.

"Alright, good." He said as he kissed her head and they headed back out to the waiting room.

Will sat beside Erin, slinging an arm around her in an effort to comfort her. She was worried and upset too, trying to hold it in, but he knew how much Jay meant to her. Hailey was on his other side, leaning against him as they all waited for updates. It was bad, and the surgery was long, but he eventually pulled through and Hailey and Will were allowed into his room. There were many machines and wires, his neck was wrapped, and he looked awful, but he was alive.

"It's okay," Will reassured his sister as he rubbed her back. "He's okay."

OOOOO

Will paced around the apartment when he got home from work late that night. Jay had woken up after two days in a coma and seemed to be improving over the last few days. Visiting hours had ended at eight that night and that was the last time he saw Hailey. She was supposed to go home, but it was four hours later and there was no sign of her. He called her phone only to be met with her voicemail and his text messages when unanswered.

There wasn't much else he could do, but he was getting worried. He had a bad feeling about it and he caved and called in a favour with Intelligence, for the second time that week. Mouse was a family friend, Jay had gotten him that job, and Will knew he'd help in any way he could. He was still at work, working late on the same case that got Jay shot.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Mouse said when Will called to ask him to find Hailey. "Jay low jacked her phone a while back for this very reason. He has me keep an eye on her."

Will smirked. "Why am I not surprised?"

"It looks like she's on campus, more specifically a frat house." He said. "She's probably at some party, but I can send units over to pick her up? Lindsay is waving at me like a mad woman so I think that means she'll go."

"I might have better luck," Will heard Lindsay on the other end of the phone. "I'll bring Kim and get her home."

"Yeah, it didn't go so well last time I pulled her out of a party." Will sighed. "Sounds good, tell her I'll wait for her here."

"She's not doing well since Jay got hurt, is she?" Mouse asked. "Disappearing, acting out, and skipping class, stuff like that?"

"You got it," he said. "Thanks for helping out, Mouse."

Will hung up and continued to pace around the apartment until he got a text from Erin saying they had her and were on their way. He felt a strange mixture of relief and anger and tried his best to calm down before they came through the doorway.

He took one look at Hailey and knew she was in rough shape. He exchanged a glance with Erin who was support her and she shook her head, a silent signal that things didn't go well. Will stepped forward and reached out to help steady his sister, grabbing onto one of her arms.

"Hailey," he said as he put a hand on the back of her head. "Hailey,"

"Will," she mumbled. "I'm sorry."

He could smell the alcohol on her breath and shook his head. "Did you take anything?"

"No, I just drank," she shook her head, slurring her words. "I drank a lot, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," he said, even though he was. "But I need you to tell me everything."

"I didn't take anything," she repeated. "I promise."

"Okay, Hailey, how much did you drink?" He asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Will, I wanna go to sleep."

Erin shook her head. "Best to let her sleep it off and ask questions later."

"Yeah," he nodded and carried Hailey to her bed, placing her on top, taking her shoes off and covering her with a blanket. He placed a garbage can by the side of her bed and met Erin in the doorway.

"You have to tell Jay about this," she said. "This is the second time this week, she's spinning, Will."

"I know," he said. "But not yet."

OOOOO

Hailey was pacing around the hospital room as Will was looking over Jay's chart a few days later. He was awake and watching both his siblings. He knew this past week hadn't been easy for either of them to see him hurt, but it seemed to be worse than he thought on them. He kept his eye on Hailey, she couldn't sit still and she didn't look good, she was clenching her jaw a lot and looked like she had spent the night partying. Will was working last night and couldn't verify where she was, which he knew was a bad sign, but she showed up at eight that morning when visiting hours started.

"Hails, enough with the pacing." Jay sighed. "Sit down, please."

She sat in the chair beside the bed, but she continued to move her leg and the more he watched her, the more he was sure she was on something. He stared her down, leaning his head to the side as he frowned. "Are you high?" He asked seriously.

"What?" Will said, snapping his head up from the chart to look at her.

"No," she mumbled.

"No?" Will raised his eyebrows. "Come here,"

"Leave me alone," she snapped. "I'm an adult."

"Are you serious?" Will said as he crossed the room and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "After everything we went through to get you help, after all the work you put in, and especially with Jay in the hospital, you go back to this?"

"Let go of me," she pulled out of his grip. "It's not a big deal."

"Hailey," Jay said.

"I thought you were going to die," she cried out. "You almost did."

"Then you talk to me, or someone else, you don't do drugs, we've been over this." Will said, raising his voice. "I'll tell you one thing, Hailey, I've had enough."

"Will," Jay interrupted. "If I remember correctly, you went through a similar partying phase at her age."

"Yeah, I did," Will said. "And you came to New York and kicked my ass, and maybe that's what she needs."

"You were out of control," Jay said.

"So is she," Will argued. "Have you been to class at all this week? What are your grades like, huh? Did she tell you that she's been out partying every night since you've been in here? I've had to get Mouse to track her phone twice because she didn't come home and when she did come home without police intervention, she was a drunk mess."

"Hailey," Jay said. "Please tell me that isn't true."

"You don't get it," she shook her head.

"You think I don't know what it's like to see someone I care about in the hospital?" He asked. "You've been in here three times in the last few months."

"I didn't get shot in the neck!" She exclaimed. "And I wasn't hooked up to machines fighting for my life. Last time I saw someone like that, they didn't make it, and you expect me to just go about my day like everything is good?"

"I expect you to handle difficult situations without drinking and using drugs," he said. "If this is some cry for attention consider it received, because I'm off work for a few weeks and it will be spent watching you like a hawk."

"Whatever," she mumbled and stormed out of the room.

"Let her go," Jay said firmly as Will moved to follow her. "She'll come back."

"It's been hell this week with her, Jay." He said. "How can you just let her go off again?"

"Because this isn't about me, didn't you hear her?" He said. "It's about Mom. All this time we thought it was about Dad, but it's not. She never dealt with Mom's death and whenever she gets scared that someone else might leave, she self-medicates to fill the void."

"Woah," Will said slowly. "How did I miss that?"

"Because, you're not listening to her, Will." He said. "You're so caught up in what she's doing that you're missing the why part. Go home after shift and just talk to her, you're off in a few hours, let her cool off."

OOOOO

Will took Jay's advice and left Hailey alone for the day. He headed home a few hours later and hoped she would be there, but she wasn't. He sighed and waited, hoping she would come through the door eventually, and when she finally did, he was ready and waiting for her in the living room.

"Where have you been?" He asked, trying to stay calm as he muted the game he was watching.

She shrugged. "Just around," she said as she sat down on the other end of the couch. "School library mostly."

He nodded. "What were you on this morning?"

She didn't look at him. "Molly," she mumbled. "I didn't mean to take it,"

"You didn't mean to take drugs?" He asked with a frown as he crossed his arms.

"No, I mean I didn't plan to, I just did without thinking about it," she said. "Old habits."

"Because seeing Jay in the hospital reminded you of Mom?" He asked, slinging his arm across the back of the couch. "Come on, Hails, talk to me baby."

"I was scared, and I couldn't get all the thoughts out of my head and I just wanted to silence everything until I was sure he was okay." She said. "I went on a bender, and I hate myself for being so weak."

"Hey, I don't want to hear you talk like that," he said. "You're not weak and you have no reason to hate yourself. You have a problem, Hailey, and you need to keep working on it. This was a bump in the road, so what are you going to do?"

"Start over?" She shrugged and finally looked at him, tears in her eyes. "Help me."

"Hails," he frowned with concern as he reached out to hold her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Of course I'll help you, it's going to be okay, sweetheart."


	10. Chapter 10

Jay woke up to Hailey screaming. She was having a nightmare. He had been home for a few weeks and he was supposed to go back to work tomorrow, so he knew this wasn't a coincidence. They had been having a rough few weeks. Jay was watching her constantly, driving her to and from classes, to and from any social event she wanted to go to, and he made sure he always knew where she was. He gave her no room to slip up like before, and as much as she resisted, it worked.

"Hailey, hey, Hails, wake up." Jay said as he came into the room. He leaned over her, putting his hands on her upper arms, shaking her slightly until she woke up. He sat down on the edge of her bed and ran his hand through her hair. "It's alright, Hails, it was just a nightmare."

"Jay?" She asked. "You… you were gone."

"I'm right here, baby," he soothed. "I'm okay."

She nodded, but he could see her frowning, the wheels turning in her head and the tears she was holding back. She sat up and hugged him, burying her head in his chest. "I don't want you to go back," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I know, Hails," he said as he rubbed her back. He reached over and turned the lamp on the nightstand on before he pulled back to look at her. "I can't promise you that I won't get hurt again, but I can promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure I come home. It's a dangerous job, but I'm really good at it."

She was quiet for a few moments. "That's what you said before you were deployed." She said. "I had nightmares all the time when you were gone."

"You did?" He asked with a frown. "You never told me that."

"You never really came home, Jay." She said. "Just when Mom was dying, and by then, I was having nightmares about her."

His frown deepened. "Hails, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you during that, and after with Dad." He said. "I wasn't in the best place either, it was hard for me when I came home."

"I know," she nodded. "But I just got you back, and then almost lost you again, and I'm kind of a mess in case you haven't noticed."

"You're not a mess," he said. "You're a work in progress, but considering everything you've gone through, and being so young, I think you're doing really well. I don't tell you that enough, and I'm proud of you, Hails."

Hailey dropped her head into her hands, she could no longer hide her tears. She wasn't expecting him to say that and she felt like she didn't deserve it. "Don't be proud of me," she mumbled. "I'm a drug addict, Jay. That's what I am, a pathetic addict. You and Will saved my life, I'd probably be dead by now if you didn't try so hard, and I've made things so hard for you two."

"Hey, look at me," he said, waiting until she made eye contact. "You are not pathetic, you hear me? You admitted you had a problem and you asked for help, that takes guts. And, you didn't make things hard for me, you made things so much better. I am proud of you, for everything you have become and have overcome. So, don't say things like that, alright?"

Hailey just nodded and leaned back into his embrace. Jay kissed her head as he held her tightly, wanting to protect her as much as he could. He knew these next few days were going to be hard for her and he wanted her to know he wasn't going anywhere. He stayed with her and waited for her to drift back to sleep before he went back to his own room.

He didn't get much more sleep that night, between Hailey and his own worries about going back to work, his mind wouldn't settle down. He was up early, getting ready and making breakfast. He checked Hailey's schedule, he made her put one on the fridge. She had class in the morning and then an appointment with Dr. Charles in the afternoon.

"How were things?" Will asked when he walked through the door from his shift at the hospital. He had a feeling it wasn't a perfect night. With Jay being so involved, Will was able to step back with Hailey so she didn't feel too boxed in and it allowed their relationship to mend.

Jay shrugged. "She had a nightmare, not surprisingly." He said. "She told me she was a pathetic drug addict that would probably be dead without us, and that we shouldn't be proud of her."

Will smirked, not in amusement but in shock. "I'm not sure if that's a step forward or not." He said. "Dr. Charles wants us to talk to us sometime about her. I told him that she slipped up when you were in the hospital."

"I'll try and be there today," he said. "But, I need to get to work and she is still in the shower."

"I will make sure she gets to class." Will nodded as Jay hesitated. "Go, it's fine."

"Alright," he said as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Hails, I'm leaving for work."

"Wait," she yelled through the door. The water turned off and she emerged a few minutes later in a bathrobe and soaking wet hair. She hugged him tightly and he smiled as he returned the embrace. "Be careful, please."

"Always," he said as they separated and he kissed her head and squeezed Will's shoulder. "I'll see you guys tonight for dinner."

OOOOO

"So," Dr. Charles said when Hailey was sitting in front of him. "You slipped."

"I slipped," she nodded. "More than once, and badly."

"You didn't make excuses for it, that's a good sign," he said. "Why do you think you slipped?"

"I was scared that I was going to lose Jay, again," she said. "It was hard, my brain wouldn't turn off all the worst case scenarios and I just needed a break."

"Good," he nodded. "You recognize why you did it and for what purpose, now let's try to give you some other options than drugs to deal with those thoughts and worries."

Hailey left Dr. Charles office after her appointment feeling a bit better about everything. He really was good at his job and seemed to always be able to help her. She headed into the doctor's lounge to work on some of her assignments for her classes. They let her do that while Will was working, knowing that Will being able to keep an eye on her was the best thing.

She noticed Will at the nurses' station and she watched him, waiting for him to come into the room but he didn't. Instead, he disappeared down the hall toward Dr. Charles office. Hailey frowned and followed him, thinking he thought she was still in there, but she stopped when she saw him walk through the door and close it behind him.

"Did she see you come in here?" Jay asked as Will closed the door behind him. "I came the other way, she didn't see me."

"I think she saw me, I'll talk to her about it later." He said as he sat down. "So, how is she doing?"

"She's actually doing well, considering everything." He said. "She likes your involvement in her life, and even though she is resisting you sometimes, it is done as a means of pushing back to see if you're going to stay throughout everything."

Will nodded. "Because we weren't there for her with our Dad."

"Right, you have to remember, as much as you might not want to think about it, that Hailey was abused, physically, verbally, emotionally," he explained. "That, together with losing her Mother, and essentially you and Jay, put her into a dark place."

"And, she turned to drugs." Jay said.

"She used drugs as a way to make herself feel better." He said. "She was depressed and lonely and the drugs took that pain away and they let her sleep at night. Not only does she have to break the habits she has formed, she has to figure how to deal with those underlying feelings that led her there in the first place."

"She went back to drugs when she thought she was going to lose Jay." Will said as he glanced at his brother. "I didn't see it like that. I didn't help her, and I should have. I messed up, Jay."

"No, you didn't, Dad messed up," Jay said. "You were only trying to help her, we both were."

"And, you are helping her." Dr. Charles said. "You're there, and the best thing for her is to reassure her that you are both there for her."

Jay and Will nodded, thanked Dr. Charles and left the office. They understood, but they wished there was an easy fix to help Hailey. She deserved to be a normal teenager, but after everything she had been through that probably wasn't going to happen. They went their separate ways, Jay back to work and Will back to the Emergency Department.

Hailey was waiting for him, distracted from her studies as she looked up when every time someone walked by. Will frowned slightly as he watched her, sighing as he lingered by the nurse's station for a moment. He picked up some charts, checking on his patients as he continued to watch her.

"How's she doing?" Maggie asked.

Will shrugged. "She's good, considering everything." He said. "She has her moments."

"Yeah, about that," she said. "She had one of those moments while you were gone."

Will frowned immediately. "What happened?"

"Reese, in her current psych studies, tried to analyze her and April actually," she shook her head. "It didn't go well, but then some of the med students talked and I think she heard them."

"What did they say?" He asked.

"You'll have to ask her that," she said. "She didn't seem happy, and I don't blame her."

Will nodded and headed to check on a patient quickly, but as he was coming back to check on Hailey, he could hear her before he saw her. She was upset, she wasn't yelling, but she was speaking loudly and firmly. Something wasn't right and he was worried.

"I asked for Will," Hailey said. "I want Will, no one else."

"I'm here, I'm here," Will said as he reached out for her. "What's wrong?" He frowned as he looked her over. Reese was in the room and Hailey was awfully defensive, so he assessed the situation rather quickly.

"I don't feel well," she said. "I want to go home."

Will nodded. "I have to finish my rounds, and then we will go." He said as he looked to Reese. "Dr. Reese, do you have a moment?"

She followed him out into the hallway, out of ear shot of Hailey. "I overstepped," she admitted. "I apologize, I thought I could help."

"I appreciate it," Will said. "But, Hailey is my sister and she is a patient of Dr. Charles, so if you don't mind, please stay out of it."

Will finished checking on his patients before heading back to the lounge to change and gather his things. Hailey was quiet as she packed her bag and put on her jacket. She was still quiet as she followed him out of the hospital and to the car. Once they started driving, he couldn't take her silence anymore, but he wanted her to get there on her own, so he waited. She continued the quietness as they headed into the Intelligence Unit to meet Jay for dinner.

Hailey sat disconnected from her brothers at the table in the break room as Jay handed Will some plates. He watched her and shared a few glances with Will as he grabbed the pizza box from the counter and some bottles of water from the fridge.

"Alright, what's with the silent treatment, Hails?" Jay said as he sat down.

"Reese tried to shrink her," Will said. "And some medical students were talking about her."

"What did they say?" Jay frowned as he looked at her. "Hails, just talk to us, baby."

"They said, 'that's Dr. Halstead's sister, he's a doctor, their brother is a detective and I heard she's a drug addict, she must have been the dud of the family,'" Hailey smirked as she shook her head and turned to Will. "They think you keep a close eye on me because I'm weak."

"Well, what do you think?" He asked.

"I think, I'm tired of people trying to shrink me," she said. "I think, I'm tired of being judged and labelled, and I think they're wrong."

"There you go," he nodded. "They are wrong, by the way."

She shrugged. "About the weak thing, yeah."

"About all of it," Jay said as he parked the car and turned toward her. "You're not an addict, you stopped taking the pills, and you're definitely not a dud."

"There's no duds in this family, we're all pretty awesome." Will said. "You more than either of us goons, right Jay?"

"That's the most truthful thing I've heard all day," Jay nodded as he pushed the pizza toward her. "Next time tell them to shut up, eat some pizza."

Hailey smirked as she grabbed a slice. "I just might."

OOOOO

Hailey woke up the next morning not feeling the best. She was glad to have slept through the night, but she usually did when Will and Jay were both home. She could hear the shower running and as she slipped out of bed, she could hear Jay and Erin talking in the kitchen and held off from opening the door.

"So, I asked you a week ago and you said you'd think about moving in," Jay said. "There's room here, or my loan went through, we could get a new place, so what's the deal?"

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said.

"Just come check out this place I found, it's really cool," he said. "It has a washer and dryer, underground parking, a gym."

"It's not that," she said. "I want you to move in with me, at my place. I already have a mortgage and we could pay it off in five years."

"Your place only has one bedroom," he said slowly. "Erin, I can't. Will is struggling financially with his student loans and the insurance after the lawsuit, and Hailey, I need her with me."

"I know, and that's why you need to talk to them about moving," she said. "Jay, I'm completely in love with you, but you have two other people in your life to think about."

Hailey frowned as she listened to the conversation, unsure what to think, but when she heard Erin leave she slowly emerged from her room. Jay glanced at her and then raised his eyebrows before nodding.

"How much did you hear?" He asked.

"Enough," she shrugged. "I don't want to be the reason you don't get to live with her."

"You're not," he said. "You were always included, I just wanted Erin to live with us too."

"I know, but she wants you to live at her place and there's no room for me there and I don't want you to feel like you have to say no because you're burdened with me." She said. "I can find a place, I can stay with Scott, or other friends, or Will and I can figure it out."

"Hails," He said as he closed the distance between them and put his hands on her shoulder. "You're a part of my life now and I meant it when I said I was going to take care of your now. My decisions affect you and I should have told you I was looking at places, but you were always included in the plan."

"What plan?" Will asked as he emerged from the bathroom in his scrubs.

"I asked Erin to move in and I got a loan for a new place," Jay explained. "What do you think about moving?"

"As long as we're together," Will shrugged. "I'm happy for you, Jay, she's a good one."

"That she is, and she's waiting downstairs for me," Jay nodded as he grabbed his jacket and bag. "I'll see you tonight for dinner."

"Will?" Hailey said once Jay had left the apartment.

"Yeah," he looked at her and frowned as she rubbed her throat. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel well," she said as she shook her head. "I don't know, but my throat hurts and my face hurts and my head hurts."

"Alright, come here," he said as he grabbed his bag and had her sit down on the bar stool.

He felt her neck and throat, checking her lymph nodes and applying slight pressure to her cheeks with his thumbs. He pulled out his flash light and looked at her throat before finally checking her temperature.

"Am I dying?" She asked after he pulled the thermometer from her ear, trying to lighten the mood.

"Probably not," he grinned as he began to repack his bag. "But, I want to do a throat culture, so you're coming to work with me."

"I have class, and I really don't want to go back there." She mumbled.

"I don't think you should be in class," he said. "How long have you not felt well?"

She shrugged. "A few days, but it's way worse today, why?"

"I need you to tell me stuff like this right away," he said as he grabbed his jacket and handed hers to her. "It's likely you have strep throat, but now I'm worried you also have a sinus pressure, which is why you have that pressure feeling in your face and head."

"Great, just what I needed." She said as she put on her jacket and followed him out of the apartment.


	11. Chapter 11

Lindsay and Ruzek were on patrol, working overtime as uniform officers as security at a concert. They were messing around with each other, talking about relationships and money, when the concert let out and people began to flood out. She was pretty good at scanning the crowd, but she knew she got lucky when she saw Hailey with some friends headed their way.

"Hey, Hailey," Lindsay frowned as she grabbed onto her arm, stopping her from going passed them. "I didn't know you were here, Jay never said anything."

"Oh, yeah, it was a last minute thing," Hailey said, trying to brush her off.

Lindsay glanced at the people she was with a got a bad feeling. "So, Jay doesn't know you're here?"

"No, he doesn't, somehow I slipped his custody" she said as she glanced back at her friends. "I was studying with some people and like I said, it was last minute. Look, don't tell him, okay? He worries."

"I know he does," she said. "But, now I'm a little worried too."

"Let us drive you home," Ruzek said with a concerned frown. "After we're done here, it will only be ten minutes or so."

"Yeah, fine," Hailey shrugged. "They're headed to a party anyway, it's not really my scene anymore."

Lindsay was about to say something when shots rang out and everyone began to yell, run and panic. Hailey instinctively ducked, like most people around them, and she felt Ruzek grab her and cover her as he and Lindsay looked around.

"Stay here," Ruzek pointed at her as he ran down the stairs toward the commotion.

"I'll come back and get you," Lindsay told her as she disappeared down the stairs with Ruzek.

Once the shots had stopped and they had called for backup, Lindsay came back for Hailey. Some of her friends also stayed around but they left after Lindsay told them the scene was under control with back up there. When they headed outside, things still looked quiet chaotic to Hailey, and Voight immediately put her into his SUV.

"Jay is on his way," he said. "He was called in, but he knows you're here."

Hailey nodded and Voight paused with his hand on the door. "He told me not to come here when I brought it up last week," she said. "I told him I was studying with friends. He's going to be mad."

"Maybe," Voight said. "But, you're safe and unharmed and he will be relieved for that."

"I hope so," she said softly.

"Trust me, it's all the matters in the end," he said. "Look, we need someone in Intelligence to answer the phone, take messages, make calls, that kind of thing. I think it would be good for you, jobs yours if you want it."

Hailey smiled slightly. "Thank you," she said.

He nodded and closed the door gently. She sat alone in the SUV, waiting for Jay, she felt better but she was still nervous for Jay's reaction, and she was scared about what happened in there. Her anxiety was increasing by the second, and when Jay finally arrived and she saw him walking onto the scene, she jumped out of the SUV and ran into his arms immediately.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she mumbled as he caught her and held her tightly. "It was just a concert, I wasn't going to the after party, you can even ask Erin. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this, but don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Hails, I'm worried." Jay said as he pulled her back to look her over. "Are you okay? The truth, Hailey."

"I'm scared, Jay." She said as she shook her head, tears falling. "I'm really scared. If Erin hadn't stopped me, I would have probably been outside when the shooting started. I know you have to work, but Will is working too, and I don't want to go home alone."

"Hey, hey," Jay pulled her back into his embrace. "It's okay, you can stay at the station while I'm working, you'll be safe there."

"I want to stay with you," she mumbled as he tightened his hold on her. She could get pretty clingy when she was scared, this situation scared him too, but he knew she couldn't stay with him at the scene.

"Hailey, listen," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down slightly. "I can't do my job if I'm worried about you. I need you back at the station, or with Will."

"I won't get in the way or anything," she said.

"I know you won't, baby, but it's still not safe," he said softly. "Wait for me in the car, let me do my job, and then we will go to the station."

Hailey nodded and headed to his car to sit alone until he was done at the scene. She turned the car on so she could listen to music and answered a few text messages from her friends. When Jay was finished they headed to the station and he called Will on the way to pick Hailey up after his shift ended.

The team went to work back at the station to piece together what was going on. Hailey stayed out of the way until things calmed down before she left the break room to find Jay. He was sitting at his desk and he reached out for her as she walked by, letting her sit on his knee as he continued his conversation on the phone.

"I've still got a lot of work to do," he said after he hung up. "Will is on his way, you'll be okay with him, right?"

"Yeah," she said as she glanced at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"

"Mouse is thinking about going back in," she said. "Would you ever do that?"

"No, I'm never going back," he said as he adjusted her to catch her eye. "I promise, Hails, you don't have to worry about that."

"Good," she said as she looked at him with a shrug. "I just got you back."

OOOOO

Hailey came home after her class to an empty house the next day. They had moved not too long ago into a really nice townhouse that she wondered how they afforded. But, she knew that Jay and Erin made pretty good money so she assumed they would get approved for a decent size mortgage. Will moved in to keep them all together, but Hailey knew it was also because he was having some financial trouble with his medical school loans.

The house was in a good neighbourhood so it made Hailey feel safer and it was a two-storey, so there was plenty of room for all of them. The front door opened to the living room, with the staircase on the far right and the kitchen and dining room beyond the living room wall. The floor plan of the house kind of reminded Hailey of the Huxtable house in The Cosby Show. Upstairs, there were two bathroom and four bedrooms.

She dropped her bag on the couch and sat down, pulling out her laptop to work on a paper as she flipped on the TV for some background noise. She worked until Will came home from work with Nina joining him. Hailey had only met her once, she seemed nice and he was happy, but she wasn't really close with either of her brother's girlfriends.

"Hey, Hails," he said. "What are you doing?"

"This paper for a class," she mumbled. "Can you read it when I'm done?"

"Yes, I can do that," he said as he leaned down to kiss her head. "You remember Nina, right?"

"Yeah, hi," Hailey said with a smile before turning back to Will. "I need help with another class too, I didn't do well on two tests and the midterm is soon and I'm freaking out."

"Okay," he nodded and sat beside her. "Let me see the tests, so I can see where you're having trouble."

"I'm going to get started on dinner," Nina said and disappeared into the kitchen with a bag of food.

"It's not that bad, but I want an A, and it doesn't look like I'll get it," she said as she pulled the two tests from her bag and handed them to him. "I feel like the questions try to trick us and I don't like that."

Will grinned as he looked over the tests. "That usually happens with multiple choice exams," he said. "So, what you need to do is read the question completely and pick the best answer, there could be more than one right answer, and that is probably where you are getting stuck. You are reading too fast and not thinking all the answers through in terms of the best choice."

"But, that doesn't make sense," she said. "How can they put more than one right answer on the test? I hate psychology."

Will grinned again, he knew his sister was a perfectionist and she didn't like to be wrong. "Hails, it's okay," he said. "A lot of people struggle in college, especially with multiple choice exams."

"I can't struggle, I'll lose my scholarship, I'm already on," she stopped suddenly.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Already on what?" he said. "Academic probation?"

"Maybe," she said slowly. "I had a bad last semester, with everything going on with my issues and the thing with Dad, I missed some classes and then didn't do well on the exams."

"Hailey, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "I could have helped you."

"I don't like asking for help, I hate feeling stupid," she said. "And, I've only had myself to rely on for the last few years."

"It doesn't make you stupid to ask for help when you need it, sweetheart," he explained. "Are you doing better this semester?"

"For the most part," she said. "I'm doing well in my major, I was a little behind because of last semester but I caught up in all my neuroscience classes, it's the psychology minor that is screwing with my GPA."

"Look, first year is a big adjustment, but second year the material gets harder," he said. "You will get through it, you are more than smart enough, and I will help you, but you have to ask."

"Well, I'm asking now," she mumbled as she rubbed her head. "I have a headache."

Will frowned slightly. "Are you not feeling better yet?" He said. "You're almost done the antibiotic cycle."

"It's not that, my throat feels fine and the pressure is gone," she shook her head. "I just have a headache, probably from staring at the computer screen all day. It's been bothering my eyes."

Will smirked. "Well, let's take a break from the computer, go over these tests and then go eat some dinner."

"Dinner that your girlfriend is cooking," Hailey grinned at him.

"Do you like her?" He asked.

Hailey shrugged. "She seems nice enough," she said. "I like her, and I like Erin too."

"Well, your brothers have good taste in women." He said.

"Or, you both just got really lucky." She teased.

OOOOO

Hailey woke up during the night suddenly feeling sick and tried to rush to the bathroom. She was dizzy, dizzier than she expected and she had some trouble. Scott was right behind her, having woken up from her movements and he reached out to help steady her. Hailey had asked him to stay over because Jay was working late again and Will had gotten called in for a few hours. She knew he would probably be home by now, but she didn't expect Scott to leave, nor did she want him too.

"What?" he said. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to be sick," she said hastily. "Bathroom, now."

Scott helped her get to the bathroom, thankful it was right across the hall but the minute he set her down she was throwing up. He flipped on the bathroom light, much to her dismay and it only seemed to make things worse.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked as he reached out to steady her, seeing her swaying motions.

"Oh my God," she mumbled, sitting in front of the toilet. "You can't see me like this, get Will."

"I've seen you worse," he said as he held her hair. "You've seen me worse too."

"Yeah, but this is gross," she said. "Ugh, please just get Will, I think something is wrong."

Scott left her and headed down the hall to Will's room. Normally he would hesitate and this would be really awkward for him, but he knew Hailey needed help, so he knocked and then he waited. He heard movement behind the door before it opened to a confused looking Will staring down at him.

"It's Hailey," he said. "She's throwing up, something is wrong."

Will was immediately alert and headed down the hall with Nina and Scott close behind him. They waited in the hallway as Will tended to his sister. "Hails," he said as he felt her forehead and held her as she continued to get sick. He was trying to figure out what was going on with his sister, she seemed fine a few hours ago, but now she was completely different.

"What happened?" Will looked at Scott as he ran a face cloth under the cold water and put it on the back of her neck.

"I don't know," he said. "She woke up and said she felt sick and dizzy."

"Nothing happened?" Will questioned further. "She didn't fall, or slip, or hit her head?"

"No, no, nothing while she was with me," Scott said as he racked his brain. "Oh wait, she hit her head yesterday at the concert. During the shooting, it was an accident when everyone was panicking, but she said she hit her head."

"She had a headache at dinner," Nina reminded him. "And, the computer was bothering her eyes."

"It's the lights," Will said as he looked at her. "And, she's dizzy."

Nina nodded. "Let's take her in," she said.

"Take her where, the hospital?" Scott said. "What's wrong with her?"

"Post-concussion symptoms," Will said. "Hails, I'm going to move you, alright?"

"No, Will, please don't pick me up, I don't feel well," she whined.

"Sweetheart, I have to," he said. "We need to go to the hospital."

"I'll drive," Nina said. "Scott, run downstairs and grab some plastic bags from under the kitchen sink in case she gets sick in the car."

Will picked Hailey up with ease and carefully headed down the stairs and out to the car. He sat with her in the back seat, holding a bag and the cold cloth against her forehead as she closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Scott was in the front and Nina was driving, he stayed turned around watching her and Nina kept glancing in the mirror.

When they got to the hospital Nina ran ahead inside to tell the emergency staff what was going on. Will carried Hailey through the doors and put her down on a waiting stretcher and went with it, he knew they were going to try and keep him out, but he wasn't going to let them even try. He was a doctor, this was where he worked, and it was his sister, no one was going to keep him out.

"Will," Natalie said gently. "I got it, I promise."

"I'm not leaving her." He said firmly.

"Okay," she said as she checked her vitals and slipped an oxygen mask on Hailey. "Then, tell me what happened."

"She hit her head yesterday, I didn't know about it," he said. "She was fine, she had a headache earlier today, and then she woke up vomiting with dizziness and sensitivity to light."

"Let's get a head CT," Natalie said as she did a quick neuro exam. "Get an IV in to keep her hydrated."

"Natalie," Will said as he watched everyone start moving.

"Will," Hailey said, reaching out for him. "Don't leave me."

"I'm not, sweetheart, I'm right here," he said as he grabbed her hand. "Nat, talk to me."

"I just want to make sure she's fine," she explained. "I don't see anything other than concussion symptoms, but I want to be thorough."

He nodded and went with them up to the CT scan. It was hard for him to see his sister like this, but he couldn't stay in the room while she was getting the CT. She didn't like that, and it made it harder for him, but he talked to her through the intercom to keep her calm as the images came up.

"It's good," Natalie said. "No signs of a bleed, I want to keep her overnight for observation."

Will nodded. "Thanks, Nat."

Hailey had fallen asleep with the medication to help her rest and ease her dizziness and nausea. When she woke up the next morning she was in a hospital room with Will asleep in the chair beside her. She tried to sit up, but her head still hurt a bit and she noticed she had oxygen on and an IV in. She frowned as she laid back down and turned to her brother.

"Will," she called out before clearing her throat. "Will?"

He stirred, frowning as he woke up and leaned forward in the chair toward her. "Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said. "Where's Scott?"

"Nina took him home a few hours ago," he said. "Only immediate family is allowed to stay."

"Where's Jay?" She said.

"He's here," he nodded. "He probably just went to get some coffee, he'll be back."

"Oh," she mumbled. "What happened last night?"

"Still a little foggy?" He asked.

"I never took anything," she said, afraid he'd think she slipped up again.

"Hailey, I know that, sweetheart," he said with a frown, shaking his head. "You never told me you hit your head at the concert, that's what happened."

"I didn't think it was anything," she said. "It happened fast, everyone was shoving and trying to get cover or run."

"You had a concussion, Hails," he said. "That's why it's important you don't ignore things, especially head trauma. You're lucky you are okay."

"I'm lucky I have you," she said.

"You scared the hell out of me," Jay said as he walked back into the room and sat down on the bed. "Are you feeling better?"

She nodded. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I really shouldn't have gone to that concert."

"The lying to us part is on you, and I don't like it, so don't do it again," Jay said. "But, this part, the shooting and you getting hurt, it's not your fault. Not even a little, we're just glad you're okay. We love you, baby."

"I know, I love you guys too," she nodded. "When can I go home?"

"Hopefully later this afternoon," Will said. "Why don't you try to get some more rest until then?"

"Are you staying?" She asked as she glanced between her brothers.

"I have to get to work, something jumped off," Jay said as he kissed her head. "I will see you at home later, call me if anything changes."

Will nodded and Hailey watched Jay leave before turning to Will. "Can you rest with me?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I can do that," he said as he got into the bed beside her, carefully putting his arm around her and dropping a kiss to her head.


	12. Chapter 12

Hailey had to take it easy for a few weeks after her concussion and it caused her to fall behind in her classes before her exams. Now, she was cramming, trying to get everything prepared and it was causing her a lot of stress. She was sitting on the couch in the living room with books, notes and paper spread all over the table. It was organized chaos; she started sorting by week and had piles of paper on the floor trying to sort everything out.

Will walked into the house after shift with Nina right behind him. They had moved in together not too long ago and it was going really well. It was a full house when everyone was home, but that didn't happen too often. They were smiling, and if Hailey wasn't so consumed she would have noticed how happy they looked, but the smile faded off his face when he took in the scene.

"Uh-uh," he said as he put his hands on his hips. "You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"It's been two weeks," she said. "I can't afford to take it easy anymore. I have exams."

"Hails," he shook his head as he took his jacket and shoes off and headed toward her. "How long have you been reading?"

"I don't know, what time did you leave this morning?" She looked up at him and was met with a frown. "I'm kidding, I'm fine. I watched the lectures I missed and now I'm going through my notes."

"Any headaches, nausea, dizziness?" He asked. "Blurred vision?"

"Will," she sighed.

"I'm being serious," he said.

"And, I'm seriously fine. They said not to watch anything too jumpy, it was videos of a professor standing in a room and talking. I think I can handle it," she nodded. "I'm just really stressed out."

"Can you take a break at least?" He asked. "Let me check you out."

"I don't have time for a break, you've been through this before, you know what it is like," she said. "Exams are hard, studying is important for doing well, you went to medical school, you should understand more than anyone."

"Exactly, and I know that you need to take breaks," she said. "Come on, eat dinner with us."

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled, looking back at her notes.

Will crossed his arms. "What have you eaten today?" She shrugged and he pulled the notes from her hands. "Hailey,"

"Will, I need to concentrate," she snapped as she wiped at her face and suddenly saw blood on her hand.

She bolted from the room for the bathroom by the stairs and Will followed her. Her nose was bleeding and it was likely that it was just due to the weather changing and it being dry out, maybe the stress, but it worried him after her concussion.

"Okay, okay," he said as he got to her. "Let me see."

She moved her hands as he placed his on the sides of her face and grabbed some Kleenex to assess. It wasn't that bad, and he got it under control pretty quickly, but the suddenness of it made her nervous and she was a little shaky. It bled a lot at first, but slowed down rather quickly, allowing Will to be at ease with the situation. Hailey was less at ease and more in panic as she put her hands on his forearms as he held her head.

"Will, I'm scared," she said.

"It's just a nose bleed, and it's not a bad one," he smiled. "You're okay, sweetheart."

"It's not the first one," she mumbled as she looked away.

He tilted her head back up, mostly to take a look, but also to make her look at him. "How many times?" He asked, trying to act more like a doctor than her brother in that moment.

"This is the fourth since the concussion," she said slowly. "I didn't think it was a big deal the first time, and the second time I had just been outside and then had a shower, so I thought it was just the air change."

"It probably was," he said. "And, what about the third time?"

She winced slightly, not because she was in pain, but because she was a little worried about telling him. "It happened this morning, but I was going to tell you."

"I hope so," he said as he finished. "It stopped."

"All of this stuff is just scaring me because of what happened to Mom," she said.

"I know, it crossed my mind too," he admitted. "I don't think the nose bleed and the concussion are related, but I want to check your blood pressure later."

She frowned. "You think that's what caused them?"

"You have been really stressed," he nodded. "It's likely, so you need to find a way to relax."

She nodded. "I'll take a break."

He kissed her head. "Good, let's go eat."

She hesitated in the bathroom and he turned around a few feet out the door when he realized she wasn't following him. He frowned slightly, studying her and he came back toward the door, leaning on the frame.

"Did they check?" She asked. "When I was in the hospital, did they look for it?"

Will nodded and crossed his arms. "Not intentionally, but they did a head C.T. and it was clear." He explained. "I looked at the scans myself to double check. You're fine."

"Are you sure?" She shook her head. "Come on, Will, I didn't hit my head that hard that night. The headaches, the nose bleeds, it's all a little too familiar. I remember, you know, I was home and I watched her die."

"I know you did," he frowned heavily as closed the gap between them and put his hands on her shoulders. "I made sure to double check the scans. I didn't see anything, Hails."

"What if they missed something?" She asked. "What if it's not in the brain yet, like it started somewhere else? I looked it up and -"

"Hailey, if you google anything, it will pretty much tell you that you have cancer," he said. "Listen, we can get you checked out again, but I looked at the scans myself and the results of the blood work, and it's not that, I promise."

She nodded, blinking back the tears. "I'm just scared, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, sweetheart," he said as he pulled her into his embrace. "I was scared too, but I'm here and I'm looking out for you, and Jay is too."

OOOOO

Hailey was pacing around the intelligence unit waiting for Jay and the team to get back. She heard the news, everyone had, someone was going after cops and this was the second one shot. She knew it wasn't him, but a part of her needed to see him to erase every ounce of doubt from her mind. Right now she was in a nervous panic, and she wasn't the only one nervous at the district. Everyone seemed to be on edge and worried, and it didn't make her feel any better.

She had taken the job Voight offered her in the unit. It wasn't the most exciting, she wasn't really involved in anything other than taking and giving messages, but it was decent pay and it made her feel like she was helping. She was grateful, and she liked being around Jay and everyone, but she knew she could never do this job.

When Jay and the team walked back in she wanted to jump into his arms, but she stopped pacing and sat at her desk, trying to hold it together. It was her job, he was doing his job, she couldn't make it about her right now because there was much bigger things going on. She could see they were all on edge too, as she expected, but she didn't expect Jay to be so angry.

She smiled slightly when she saw him and he put his hand on her shoulder, dropping a kiss to her head quickly. "I'm fine," he whispered. As bad as things were, seeing her made him feel a little better in that moment.

He continued walking toward the middle of the room with the rest of the team to converse about what just happened. Hailey tried not to listen in, one of the perks of the job was that they allowed her to do her homework as long as she answered the phone. She tried to tune them out as they discussed the details, but her attention was pulled away when Voight came in and Jay started yelling.

"He was military," Jay yelled. 'The truck was a lure, it was bait. We never should have been in the alley."

Hailey went back to tuning out the conversation, she had to, or she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about how easily it could have been Jay that got shot. She only tuned back in when she noticed people started moving and leaving the room. She wanted to stop him, she knew she couldn't, but she had to try.

As Jay headed toward the stairs she stood and walked in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "Please don't go," she begged.

"Hails," he started.

"They're killing cops, Jay." She said firmly.

He frowned, trying to control his own emotions when he saw the tears she was fighting back. "It's my job, Hailey." He said.

"And, you've already been hurt once," she said. "It was too close that time, and it's too close now. I don't want to lose you, not again, not for good, please don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you," he said as he put his hands on her upper arms. "Listen to me, this is my job, there is a difference between doing my job and being reckless. I need to be out there, ending whatever this is, so it doesn't keep happening."

"What if it's you next time?" She asked.

"Then it's me," he shook his head. "It's what I do, Hails, I put my life on the line to protect this city, like I did for our country."

"You almost died over there, too." She reminded. "You came back a mess."

"I really have to go." He said. "I'll be careful, I promise, and then we'll talk when I get back."

She wiped away a few fallen tears and stepped aside. He felt horrible, but he had to go, even if it broke his heart to walk away from her in that moment, and it did. She only waited about twenty minutes after he left to leave too. She couldn't just sit there and wait for him, even if she knew he wanted her to stay there for safety.

Hailey headed down the stairs and through the doors of the district, almost walking right into Will. He raised his eyebrows when he saw her, an amused smirk on his face. "Still a flight risk, I see," he said. "Jay called me, told me what was going on, and I had a feeling you wouldn't stay."

"Of course he did," she sighed. "I'm not just going to wait here."

"I know," he nodded. "It's why I'm here, let's go home."

She followed him to the car and the drive back to the house was silent. They were alone, Erin was also working with Jay and Nina was still at the hospital until later that night. They barely made it in the front door before Hailey broke and started talking, something Will was waiting for. He had taken his jacket off and was headed toward the kitchen when she stopped him.

"Will," she called and he turned around to see her frown. "I can't do this. I'm worried all the time about him. Every time he leaves I wonder if he's coming back, or if we're going to get another call, or if the call he goes on is going to change him like when he came back from overseas. I can't do this."

"Okay, okay," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm worried about him too, and I'm worried about you, and he's worried about you. It's normal when you care about someone. We're family, it's okay to feel like this but you need to manage it because this is his job."

"Yeah, but he doesn't care enough to walk away for us, so how much does he really care?" She asked.

"Hails," he shook his head as he leaned down. "He cares, you know he does, but you're scared and fear can cause doubt."

"What if he survives a war, only to die here, at home?" She asked.

"You can't think like that," he said. "You could have died many times with the drugs, or in the train accident, or walking across the road. If it's your time, it's just your time, and there isn't anyone that can change that."

"The drugs could have changed it for me," she said. "I made that choice, and he's making the choice too, and it's not different. They were both dangerous risks, the only difference is if he dies out there, he's a hero, and I would have just been another junkie." She shrugged and smiled weakly.

"You also made the choice to quit," he said. "But, he can't quit his job. I know you understand that."

Hailey nodded. "Okay," she said. "But, aren't you scared for him? You worked on both of those officers."

"I did," he said slowly, like he was recalling the memories. "And, yeah, I am a little scared, but Jay is damn good at his job and I trust him to stay safe and come home."

Jay took that moment to walk through the door, almost as if it were scripted. He was fine, maybe a little annoyed at the situation of what was going on, but he wasn't injured and he was there. Will turned back to Hailey and they shared an amusing grin as Jay came to join then on the couch.

"Hails, are you ever going to listen to me when I tell you to stay put?" He asked.

"Not if I don't want to," she smiled. "It's a free country, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grinned and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her head as he squeezed Will's shoulder. "I love you, guys."

"You did have a bad day," Will smirked. "You know I love you, bro, and you too, Hails."

"Yes, feeling the mutual love," she said. "But, there is one thing we have to decide on. Nina isn't here, so what food are we ordering for dinner?"

Jay laughed and ran a hand over his face. "Pizza?" He suggested as they nodded in agreement.

The rest of the night went pretty normal. They had a family dinner of pizza and watched a movie, trying to reconnect after everything that had gone on lately. It worked, they all felt better, but later that night Hailey was having trouble falling asleep.

"Will," she called out when she saw him walk past her room. "Can you sing to me?"

"What?" He asked as he leaned on the door frame.

"Please? You used to sing and play guitar when I was little, I used to fall asleep listening to you in the next room," she said. "I can't sleep, Will. I'm tired, and I can't watch TV which is how I usually fall asleep."

"Really?" he frowned. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, I have too much anxiety if I don't have background noise," she shrugged. "Unless someone is sleeping next to me, I need some kind of noise."

Will nodded. "That explains why Scott is here so much."

"What's going on?" Jay asked when he saw Will in the doorway and Hailey sitting up in her bed.

"I can't sleep," she said. "I want him to sing."

Jay smirked at his brother. "Well," he said. "You heard her, go grab your guitar."

Will sighed, but they didn't miss his smile as he disappeared into his room to get the guitar. Jay climbed into the bed beside Hailey, resting on top of the covers and leaning against the headboard before putting his arm around her. He wanted her to feel protected, and she did as she leaned into him.

"This is a one-time thing," Will said as he grabbed her desk chair and sat down beside the bed and began to play and sing.


	13. Chapter 13

Will came home from work that afternoon and thought he was alone. Jay and Erin were still working, so was Nina, and Hailey had class. Or, at least she was supposed to be in class. She had left early that morning and he hadn't spoken to her much in the last few days because he was working so much. So, when he saw her sitting on her bed as he walked by her room, he knew something wasn't right.

"Hey," Will said from the doorway. "What are you doing home?"

"Uhm," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "Scott and I broke up. Well, not broke up since apparently we were never together, but whatever it was, we ended it. Or, I did."

Will walked into the room and sat down in the chair at her desk. "What happened?"

Hailey reached over and opened her nightstand drawer. "I changed, but he didn't," she said. "He brings stuff and he leaves stuff, and he has no interest in stopping."

Will frowned and glanced in the drawer to see a pill bottle half full with different kinds of pills, a small bag of what he was sure was cocaine, and another bag with weed. "Did you take anything?" He asked. "You know I have to ask."

"No, but I need you to get rid of this." She said. "It's all the stuff he's left here the last few months."

Will studied her for a moment. She was struggling, she wanted to take them, and he could see it. "No, you're going to do it," he said. "Come on,"

Hailey stared at the bottle of pills and the bags before she got up and walked across the hall to the bathroom. She dumped them out into the toilet and flushed it without hesitation. She dropped the empty bottle and bags in the trash can and turned around, wrapping her arms around Will's waist.

"Good job," he said as he rubbed her back.

"I'm sad, but this can't be my life," she said.

"It's hard to walk away from someone you still have feelings for," he said, wiping away her tears as they separated. "Sometimes it's for the best."

"You know what he said to me? He said we probably would have never become anything if I wasn't so damaged," she said. "I couldn't disagree, and if I don't know the answer, how can I stay with him?"

"Just because you turned to someone who was there and who made you feel heard in a time when you felt so alone, doesn't mean the feelings weren't real," he said. "I think now that you are clean and now that you have Jay and me, you maybe see some red flags. Things don't always work out, even when everything is good."

"It wasn't always bad," she said.

"Hails, can I ask you something?" He said as he leaned against the bathroom counter. "You always told us you took pills to get high, MDMA mostly, but you never mentioned cocaine. Have you done that much?"

She knew where he was headed with this conversation, so she nodded. "Yeah," she whispered with a shrug. "Kind of."

"I ask because heavy cocaine use can cause problems with your septum, even after you stop." He explained. "It's probably what caused your nosebleeds, how bad was it?"

Hailey shrugged again. "I kind of went back and forth between it and the pills," she said. "Last time I used it was when Jay got shot."

Will nodded, remembering her erratic behaviour in the hospital. "Will you let me make some appointments to make sure there's not long term damage?"

"With my nose?" she frowned.

"With your heart," he said. "Just to be safe, you know heart issues run in the family."

"Yeah," she nodded, knowing he was talking about their Dad. "Fine."

"Hey, what's going on?" Jay asked when he came home from work and found them upstairs in the bathroom. He had been working undercover at a home for troubled teens, the case was a bad one and he was happy to have it wrapped up.

"Hails is having a rough day," Will said.

"I broke up with Scott," she said. "He came over, he was high and he cares more about getting high than being with me, so that's that."

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry," Jay said as he slipped an arm around her. "You deserve the best, and he isn't what's best for you."

"I know, but it doesn't make it hurt any less," she said as the tears sprang to her eyes again. She turned into his embrace and Jay wrapped both his arms around her, resting his chin on her head as he glanced at Will briefly. "Dad was so emotionally unavailable and after Mom died, no one had even hugged me until I met Scott. I spent so long feeling so lonely that I just latched onto the first person that came along, and it's hard letting him go now."

"He didn't really give you a choice, Hailey." Will said. "If he's not going to change, you're going in different directions. You're doing the right thing, even if it doesn't feel like it, and Jay and I are here now. We will be here to hold you when you're feeling lonely, or upset, or scared."

"We should have been there then," Jay said with a sigh. "You know, I've had a rough few days at work, I need this too. So, let's make a deal that we keep talking to each other and we be here for each other whenever one of us needs it, alright?"

Hailey nodded against his chest. "Okay," she said.

OOOOO

The next few weeks were up and down for Hailey after her falling out with Scott. They shared most of the same friends, so losing him was like losing them too. She stopped going to classes because she didn't feel like chancing running into him, and because her interest and motivation had recently plummeted. She hadn't told Will or Jay what was going on, but she was seeing someone new and she had made some new friends. Things were looking better, and then they took a sudden turn for the worse.

"Lexi died twenty minutes ago," Voight said from his office doorway. "We can mourn when the scumbag who did this is in cuffs. Until then, what do we got?"

Jay made eye contact with Hailey at her desk before he dropped his head and sat back down at his desk. Hailey zoned out as they started talking about the case. She liked Lexi, they were friends. Not great friends, but maybe they would have been. She was one of the new friends she was hanging around with after Scott, and she was devastated to hear about her accident and now death.

Lindsay stopped in front of the board and moved Lexi's picture from the injured list to the DOA board. She did it slowly and everyone watched. They all felt this pain and grief. Jay reached out for Hailey and she went into his arms without hesitation. Being held by him made her feel better, safe and protected, even if he knew he couldn't protect her from things like this.

He frowned heavily as they separated and he made eye contact. "I love you," he whispered and dropped a kiss to her head before he headed down the stairs with Lindsay.

"I love you too," she called quietly as she wrapped her arms around herself and watched them leave. She didn't want him to leave, she didn't even want him to let her go, but he had a job to do.

Kevin joined her at the top of the stairs to check in. He kept just enough distance to be discreet and not draw any attention. "You good?"

"I was supposed to be there," she said. "I blew off that party and her, to go out with you."

"I know," he nodded. "You being there wouldn't have saved her, or anyone, it just would have put you on one of those boards."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," she sighed. "I haven't told him about us."

"That's okay," he shrugged. "You tell him when you want, just give me a heads up when you do tell him, but for now I like keeping my personal life private."

"Good, so do I," she nodded and they walked away from each other, each tending to separate things.

The rollercoaster that was her life continued when Jay left work to check on their Dad. She didn't want to go, even though she asked her a few times just to be sure. She knew something was up with his health because Jay called Will and turned the situation over to him before he came back to the district.

Their Dad wasn't doing well, heart condition paired with overwork, poor diet and excessive drinking was bound to catch up with him sooner or later. Of course, he was being stubborn and wouldn't accept any help. It only angered Jay, especially since Will was at their disposal, but then again their Father never approved of Will's career choice. He never approved of much when it came to his kids.

Jay needed to talk to Hailey, tell her what was going on, but it was an awkward conversation. She hadn't spoken to their Dad since she left the house a year ago, and she hadn't seen him since that night when he came to the old apartment and was drunk. She had no real intention of mending that fence and repairing their relationship. Will was the bridge in the family, between his siblings, his parents, and his Dad with Jay and Hailey. Will wanted to be there, be supportive and help their Father, but he was a stubborn man and even Will had his breaking point.

Hailey did come to the hospital with Jay when he went in for surgery, and they considered that progress. She's not exactly sure why she went, but probably the same reason her brothers were there too. No matter what he did, or how much he pushed them away, he was still their Dad at the end of the day.

Will was pacing in the waiting room and Hailey was watching him as she sat beside Jay, who was flipping through a magazine. Jay seemed fine, Will was nervous, and Hailey didn't feel much of anything in that moment. She wanted to, she was just afraid that if she let herself feel one thing, it would all flood back in.

"Relax," Jay said to Will. "Dad's too stubborn to die."

"You didn't see him. He ignored my medical opinion and he got worse. He considers me a disappointment because real men go right to work," Will said that last part just like their Father had and he shook his head. "He even freely talks about how much he hates doctors, so you can pretty much guess how he feels about and my career."

"He doesn't like the path any of us took," Jay smirked. "I gave up my military career to become a cop, he didn't like that either. We don't need his approval to live our lives. I'm proud of you, both of you."

It never occurred to Hailey that she wasn't the only one he messed up. "We're proud of you too," she smiled at him and Jay put his arm around her and pulled her close for a moment. "I have something to tell you, both of you."

"Are you finally going to tell us you're dating someone?" Will asked and grinned at her surprise. "What, you think we didn't know?"

"You've been happier the last few weeks," Jay smiled at her. "We noticed, and hey, if you and Scott worked things out, we will support you."

"It's not Scott," she said slowly and glanced from Will to Jay. "It's Kevin."

"CPD Kevin?" Jay raised his eyebrows. "Kevin Atwater, who I work with, in my unit, that Kevin?"

"Yes, that Kevin," she said, unable to hold back her smile.

"Huh," Will nodded. "Never would have guessed that. He's a great guy, Hails."

"Yeah, he is," she smiled again before looking at Jay. "Are you okay with this?"

"If he makes you happy, I'm okay with it." Jay nodded. "I mean that, Hails."

Dr. Rhodes came out and told them he was fine, the surgery worked and Jay didn't waste a moment telling Will he told him so. "I'm going to head back to the house because he'll probably need some stuff," he said. "Alright?"

Will nodded and Hailey glanced between the two. "I want to go too," she said. "I'm not ready to see him."

"Okay," Will said, giving her a one armed hug and rubbing her back.

Jay reached out for her, putting his arm around her as they left the hospital and headed over to the house. Hailey hadn't been home in so long that it felt like it was someone else's memory as she walked through the front doors. Everything was the same, and that made it worse because everything was a memory.

She walked around as Jay gathered up what he thought their Dad would need. Hailey ended up in her old bedroom, and noticed that nothing was touched or moved. She wondered if he even opened the door since she had been gone. There wasn't much of her stuff left, she took what she could that night she left and she had Will and Jay pick up things here and there when they visited. She never had a lot of stuff, but there were still some things in her room that reminded her of better times, her childhood and her Mother.

"You okay?" Jay asked from the doorway as she stood in the center of the room. "Taking a trip down memory lane?"

"It wasn't all bad," she smiled at him. "Do you every wonder what things would be like if Mom was still here?"

"Sometimes," he nodded. "But, it doesn't do any good to play the 'what if' game. Look, I'm the last person to defend him, but he loved her and when you lose someone that close to you, it's going to take a toll and it's going to leave some scars."

"I know, that's why this is so hard." She said. "I don't know what to do here Jay."

"You do what feels right for you, Hailey." He said. "Only you can forgive him for what he did. You get to make that choice, but maybe you need that closure."

"Does he know?" she asked. "About me, and the drugs."

"No," Jay shook his head. "Will and I decided that it wasn't our story to tell, so we never brought it up."

"Does he ask about me?" She asked and he could see the wheels spinning in her head.

"Every time I talk to him," Jay said. "He's waiting until you're ready."

Hailey nodded slowly. "I just keep thinking about how I would feel if he would have died today," she said. "And, I think I would have felt bad for never trying to fix things, but I don't want to end up getting hurt again either."

"I won't let him hurt you," Jay said. "Come on, let's get going."

Jay still had to drop their Dad's stuff off at the hospital with Will. Hailey had been quiet the entire drive, trying to decide what to do. She didn't know what the right thing was anymore, but the only thing she was holding to was that feeling of regret had he not been okay today. So, when Jay parked the car and went to get out of the car, she stopped him.

"I'm going to come," she asked. "Let me give him his stuff."

"Yeah," he said softly. "I think that's a good idea."

Hailey followed Jay through the hospital until they reached their Dad's hospital room. They lingered outside the doorway and watched a rarely sweet moment between their Dad and Will. He was trying to stand up for himself and was telling their Dad he needed to make changes, and they were all equally surprised at the kindness their Dad was showing.

Hailey took that moment to walk into the room, while Jay stayed in the doorway. Will turned around and took a few steps back from the bed to allow Hailey to move in the small room, but she stayed at the end of the bed as she made eye contact with her Dad. His eyes were full of emotion, he was holding back tears, something she had never seen.

"I didn't mean to," her Dad said, and there it was, the regret.

"I know," she whispered with a nod.


	14. Chapter 14

Will came home after a shift to find Hailey and Jay making dinner in the kitchen. They were talking and laughing, and if Will wasn't so annoyed with the news he just received it would have been the perfect family moment to join. They had all been going through a lot lately, and they were all busy making it rare that their schedules lined up in a way where all three of them were able to sit down for a meal. He listened to them as he took his jacket and shoes off, trying to figure out if Hailey had told Jay anything or if she was going to tell either of them.

"So, you asked her to marry you and she left?" Hailey asked gently. "Are you ok?"

"Don't really have a choice," Jay shrugged as he pulled dinner out of the oven to check on it. "This still needs a few minutes."

"Can I do anything?" she frowned, not looking up from making a salad.

"Not really, just have to go through it," he said as he put the chicken back in the oven. "Actually, Hails, I could use a hug."

She smiled, she could do that. She fell into his embrace easily, but her frown deepened as she wrestled with her own emotions. It was hard to tell who was comforting who in that morning. She felt sad for him and he was always there for her, so she wanted to be there for him but she was going through her own stuff too and he could feel it. He could sense something was off with her, but she didn't want to need him more than he needed her.

"Hey," he frowned as he pulled her back with his hands on her shoulders. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing," she said.

He raised a brow. "Come on, now. You can always talk to me, Hails."

"Really," she faked a smile. "I'm good, I just miss her too."

Jay was still having a hard time moving on from Erin's sudden leaving. Will had seemed to move on from his break up, mostly because he always wanted to be with Natalie and now it looked to be headed that way. And, Hailey was adjusting to a more stable life with better relationships. She seemed to cut off Scott and all her old friends who got her caught up with drugs, and she was making progress in a healthy relationship with Kevin. It almost made Will second guess that ambush he was about to make, but he knew he'd never be able to sit on this through a meal like nothing was wrong.

"Hey man," Jay said as Will came into the kitchen and Hailey went to set the table. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Hey, smells great," Will said.

"And, how does the salad look?" Hailey grinned as she sat down at the table.

"It looks great," Will smiled and dropped a kiss to her head out of habit. He was quickly losing his nerve to have this conversation. "Hey Hails?"

"Yeah?" she turned in her chair as she dropped an opened envelope on the table in front of her.

"Were you going to tell us you dropped out of college?" he asked with a raised brow.

"What?" Jay frowned heavily as he grabbed the envelope off the table and pulled out the letter.

"You opened my mail?" she said.

"Your privacy comes secondary to this conversation," Will said.

"It's a crime!" she yelled at him, matching his rising voice.

"I pay your tuition, Hailey." He said. "I got the refund because you dropped all your classes before the withdrawal deadline."

"Oh, right." She said, the heat vanishing from her voice. "Fine, but it's still my decision."

Jay held a hand up and raised a brow at Will when he was about to start arguing with her again. "Hailey," Jay said as he turned to her. "Did you drop out?"

She shrugged. "Well, yeah kind of."

"Okay," he raised a brow. "Why?"

"I'm just taking a break," she said. "It's too much and I hate it."

"What do you mean you hate it?" Jay asked.

"I hate all my classes. I'm bored and overwhelmed and I don't see the point," she said. "I want to love it, and I never have. I only went to college because it was the only way to get out the house and away from Dad."

Jay nodded. "And, now that he's apologized things are different."

"Well, yeah," she said. "You both love your jobs. Don't I deserve to love what I do too? I just need some time to figure out what that is."

"Hailey, you're already half way through your program," Will said. "This is not a smart decision."

"So, you want me to waste another two years and God knows how much money, just so I can say I finished?" she said. "Even if I'm miserable?"

"College is important," Will said. "And, you are too smart to waste your potential."

"Who said I'm going to waste it?" she said. "I just want a break."

"People take breaks and then they never go back," Will said.

"Ok, both of you take a breath," Jay said.

"Do you agree with this?" Will said, turning his anger on his brother.

"Will, she's only twenty years old," Jay said. "She has time to take a break and she deserves to find what she loves."

"Thank you," Hailey said as she crossed her arms.

"And you," Jay turned to his sister. "Where have you been going the last few weeks?"

Hailey shrugged. "Just around."

Will nodded. "So, you've been lying about where you were, and when we ask about your day you lied to our faces, and what? You were just going to continue lying to us and hoping you didn't get caught?"

"Get caught?" she said. "In case you forgot, I'm an adult and I don't have to tell you every detail of my life."

"Hey," Jay frowned at her. "Part of being an adult is being honest about your choices."

"And, since you live with us and we pay for everything, we kind of deserve to know what you're doing," Will said. "God, Hailey, I didn't think you were this stupid."

Hailey nodded slowly as she looked at her brothers. "Noted," she said as she left the room.

"Where are you going?" Jay asked as they followed her out into the living room and watched her grab her bag and a jacket.

"I'm leaving," she said. "And if you want to know more, go ahead and track my phone."

"Hailey," Will moved toward her but Jay stopped him.

"Let her go," Jay said. "She'll come back."

OOOOO

Hailey didn't come back that night and Jay did track her phone to keep an eye on her. She was at a sorority house for part of the night, she had a few friends there, and then she went to Kevin's, so Jay wasn't overly worried. He figured she'd go to work at with Kevin in the morning since she was schedule to work, and he knew Kevin would calm her down. He hoped he could talk to her once he got to work and smooth things over with her. He just wanted to get her home, even if he had to play mediator between Will and Hailey once he did. Will was upset, he held onto anger but he was also worried and Jay knew that. Will felt bad for calling her stupid and they had decided if she didn't come home that night they would go get her.

"Hailey not here yet?" Jay asked as he looked around once he got to work.

"She didn't come with you?" Atwater asked.

"Me, thought she was staying with you?" Jay frowned.

"She told me she was at home with you and Will," he said. "Family time."

Jay nodded. "I wasn't at home last night," he said as he covered for her. "Maybe she was with Will."

"I tried calling her," he said. "Went right to voicemail."

"I'll look into it," Jay said. "She'll turn up."

Now Jay was worried too. He put the pieces together and knew Hailey jumped her phone near Kevin's to throw Jay off her trail and now she could be anywhere. He didn't want to tip Kevin off because he had a feeling Hailey might have done something she would regret last night. Kevin was good for her and he wasn't about to get in the middle and ruin it for her, even if she already ruined it on her own.

He slipped into his truck with a coffee, he had a few leads to check in on but he could also look for her at the same time. Jay looked down at his ringing phone as he sat in his truck and drank coffee. The number wasn't one he recognized, but he had a pretty good feeling who it was.

"Halstead," he said.

"Jay," Hailey's voice was small, and tired.

"Hailey," he sighed in relief but she could hear the anger in his voice. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she forced it out and he noticed. "Can you come pick me up?"

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Look, I'm fine," she said.

"Hails, just tell me where you are," he said.

She hesitated. "I'm at Med," she said.

"What?" his frown deepened. "Why, what happened?"

"I'm not here for me," she said. "It's Scott."

"Damnit Hailey," he said. "Why go back to him? You got a good thing going with Kevin, and Scott, he's nothing but trouble and he pulls you in every time."

"He's dead, Jay," she said and her voice broke. "Scott's dead."

Jay shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest. "I'm on my way," he said.

He wasn't far away, so it didn't take him long to get to the hospital. He was ushered into a private room by Maggie when he walked through the doors of the Emergency Room. Will was in the room and Hailey was on the phone. She was crying talking to someone about what happened and Will stood with his arms crossed and a heavy frown painted on his face. She hung up and that's when it hit her.

Hailey felt like she couldn't breathe, like someone sucked all the air out of her lungs. She was gasping for air, her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest, she could feel it in her ears, and she was crying even though she didn't want to. She couldn't stop and when Will got to her she grabbed onto him as tightly as she could.

"Hailey," he said as he put his arms on her shoulders. "Hails, breathe. In and out, baby."

"Will," Jay said as he took the scene in. "Is she ok?"

"She's having a panic attack," he said as he kept his eyes on her. "Hold her."

Jay took Will's place as he left the room and came back in with a needle. "What is that?"

"Just something to relax her," Will said as he inserted the needle into her arm and then felt her neck for her pulse. He ran his thumb under her eye to wipe away the tears. "Better?"

She nodded. "Better," she said.

"Hailey, what happened?" Jay asked, he was still kneeled in front of her and holding her arms. "Where'd you go last night?"

"I called a friend, my roommate from first year. She's friends with Scott and the guys he lives with too," she explained. "Her and another girl live in the same apartment building, and we were all hanging out last night. Scott, he came back from this party and he was high, but he was fine when he left."

"His heart stopped in his sleep. He had a valve disorder, it was never found, and with the damage from the years of drug abuse," Will shook his head. "It was just too much for his heart to handle."

"He was fine," Hailey repeated with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Hails, I'm sorry," Jay pulled her into a hug and glanced up at Will with a worried frown. They had never seen Hailey this upset, and they didn't know how to fix it. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"I want to go home," she mumbled. "Please, just take me home?"

"Yeah," Jay nodded as he stood up with her. He kept his arm tightly around her.

"Are you coming?" Hailey asked Will as she looked up at him.

"Whatever you need, Hails." Will nodded.

OOOOO

Hailey tried to navigate through the halls of the hospital without being seen or stopped by someone that recognized her. She avoided the Emergency Room easily by entering through the main entrance, but too many people knew who she was and they could be in any part of the hospital. She left her hood up, she used the stairs instead of the elevator and she walked quickly past groups of people.

"Dr. Rhodes," Hailey caught up with him on one of the upper floors of the hospital.

She had to wait until both Jay and Will were busy so they wouldn't insist on coming with her. It was harder than it sounded. She had to wait until Will had a night shift so he'd come home and go straight to bed, but that shift also had to align with a late night or early morning for Jay that would ensure he didn't insist on driving her.

"Hailey," he said as he turned around. "You can call me Connor."

"Dr. Connor?" she grinned. "I need a favor, are you busy?"

"Uh," he glanced at his watch. "I have a few minutes, what's up?"

"Will wants me to get a work up on my heart," she said. "I want to do it without him knowing in case- well, you know."

"In case it's bad news?" he nodded. "I'll fit you in, come on."

It wasn't lost on him that it was odd a twenty year old would need to have her heart checked. He had seen her chart, he heard some rumours, and he had performed surgery on their Dad. He knew there was a family history of heart problems, but nothing that would affect her so young. He also knew Will, and how much he worried about his family, especially his sister, and he liked Will and Hailey. So, he did the basic things first, blood work, vitals, and now he had her linked up to an EKG. There were a lot of wires, and he could tell she was nervous as she watched the machine and the screen.

"This won't tell the whole picture, but it will give us an idea if someone is going on right now," he said. "So far, I haven't seen or heard anything that would suggest something was wrong."

"What other tests do you do?" she asked.

"Depends, cardiac work ups are different for everyone," he said. "Is this because of your Dad? It wasn't a hereditary condition, it was more lifestyle related."

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I haven't made the best lifestyle choices."

"The more I know, the more I know what to look for," he said.

"Damage from cocaine and MDMA," she said. "That's what you're looking for."

"Alright," he nodded like he heard this every day. "How much, how often, and have you noticed any problems?"

"Couple times a week for about a year," she said. "Maybe a year and a half, and no, I haven't noticed anything really."

"Why did Will want you to get checked out?" he asked.

"I have anxiety, sometimes I have panic attacks and I was getting these nose bleeds," she said. "I think after our Dad, he just wanted to be sure."

"Makes sense," he nodded. "Will and Jay should get checked out too."

Hailey was quiet for a few moments. "I also had a friend pass away recently. He had this valve disorder and they never knew about it," she explained as he listened to her. She was pretty sure he knew about Scott's case. He had been working that day.

"Well, this looks okay, but we should do an ultrasound to be sure nothing is going on. It will give you and your family some peace of mind too," he said. "I can book you an appointment."

"Can I have it done today?" she asked and he glanced up at her from her chart. "Will's off today."

"I'll get someone to do it now," he said. "But, you should really tell him."

"Can you do it?" she asked. "And, can you keep it between us?"

He studied her for a moment before he nodded. He knew what it was like to constantly be judged by family. "Sure," he said. "But, I really think you need to tell your brothers."

"I will," she nodded.


	15. Chapter 15

Jay was sitting with Camilla on the couch at some warehouse party at two in the morning when he saw Hailey come in with a few friends. There was cocaine on the table, the crowd was rough, and he was spiraling just as must as she was, but he had been checked out just enough to miss how off the rails she was, or was heading.

He understood it, he hadn't been in the best mind set lately. With how he'd been handling things since Lindsay left and he got Camilla's brother killed, he felt like a hypocrite for coming down on her when she lost someone she once loved forever and in a horrible way. She wasn't the best with compartmentalizing after stressful things happened in her life. She shut down, shut people out, and she had a history of drug abuse to prove it.

He frowned as he watched her move around the room, and Camilla easily picked up on his distracted state. Even through his drunken lens he knew she wasn't high, but he knew there were very few reasons other than drug use for why she would show up at this party. The second someone approached her he was on his feet.

"What is it?" she frowned as she stood with him and grabbed his arm. "Who is that?"

"My kid sister," he said.

"I've seen her around, it's been awhile, but she was a serious partier," she grinned. "Now I know where she gets it from."

Jay shook his head and crossed the room quickly and determined. He stepped between her and some sketchy looking guy and allowed her to register that it was him, to avoid scaring her or causing a scene, before he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her a few feet away from the crowd.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he said seriously as he dropped his head to whisper in her ear. "I'm working. Ryan."

"I-I'm just hanging out with people," she mumbled. "You're hurting me."

He loosened his grip but didn't let go of her. "Come on," he said. "We're leaving."

"No," she tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let go. "I'm not doing anything."

He pulled her close so he could look in her eyes. He was looking for signs that she was high and she let him, because she wasn't, or she was hiding it well enough. "We're leaving," he repeated.

"Ryan, come on," Camilla said. "Let her party."

"She's going through something," he snapped as he turned his head to glare at her.

"Aren't we all?" she asked, almost in an accusing tone.

"Just because I'm spiraling doesn't mean I'm going to take her down with me," he said. "Hailey, let's go."

He pulled her through the crowd and she let him. She knew something was going on with him too, she could see it before all this happened with her, but now she could really see it. It was right in front of her and she wasn't used to seeing him this undone. They stepped out into the fresh air and he let go of her, only to pick up his phone. He was drunk, he was waiting for a girl who didn't know anything about him that was real, and he was trying to figure out what to do with his sister when he wasn't any better off.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked.

"I'm undercover," he said quietly. "Why are you here?"

"Those are my friends, and Scott's friends, and this is what we used to do. We're just hanging out," she said. "Undercover for what?"

"It's a long story," he sighed and brushed her off. "Hails, did you slip up?"

"No," she frowned and he saw the tears pool in her eyes. "It's just, they miss him as much as I do, and they understand the loss. Without any judgement on how he lives, or how he died, they knew him for who he really was."

"Hails, I understand," he said softly. "Erin was pretty rough around the edges, and her back story is no picnic, but all those things didn't hold a candle to how amazing of a person she is."

"Yeah," she said. "This has been really hard for me."

"I know that," he said. "Even if you weren't together, you had a past and those feelings were very real."

"It's not just that," she shook her head. "It could have been me. This could have been my story. If you and Will didn't find me, if you didn't step in-" she shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'd be lying if I said that very thought hadn't crossed my mind," he nodded and put his hands on her arms. "That's why seeing you in there scared me so much. You turned your whole life around, Hails. Don't go backwards."

She wanted to ask him if he was going backwards, she wanted to know what he was doing since Erin left, because lately he had been reminding her of how he was when he came home from war. He was distant, he was distracted, and he was hurting. But, she didn't get a chance to say anything because both of their attention was pulled away by the sound of a car accident.

Jay took off toward the chaos and Hailey followed, even if she didn't want to, but she was more afraid to stand in the street alone. Now that she wasn't drinking or on drugs, she was more aware of her surroundings. Maybe it was Scott's death, or things she saw while helping out in Intelligence, but she knew what people were capable of and it easily terrified her more than whatever was waiting for them on the other side of the building. Plus, she knew Jay would protect her at all costs, but she wasn't prepared for what they saw.

At first Hailey thought the girl was just hit by the SUV, which was bad enough, but Jay dropped to the ground in front of her and she saw the gunshot wounds. The man that hit her seemed upset and confused, the girl had just run right out in front of her. It sounded horrible, but Hailey was relieved because her mind had been running wild for a few seconds wondering if he was someone that they should be worried about.

He was on the phone with 911, Jay was telling the girl she wasn't alone, and Hailey put the pieces together that whoever she was, she was dying. He held her hand and she stared right into his eyes, and something told Hailey that he wasn't going to forget this woman. There were some things you can't unsee, and this was one of them. After a moment he rose and he made a phone call, and she didn't have to ask to know he was calling Voight for help.

Jay hung up and turned to find Hailey staring at the dead girl on the road. He had a heavy frown on his face, he saw this stuff a lot, and it always made him angry, but he could tell she was upset. He turned her away from the girl and put his hands on the sides of her face. He scanned her eyes briefly before he dropped a kiss to her head and looped an arm around her as they waited for the police and Intelligence to arrive.

"Hey," Kevin said with a worried expression as he approached Hailey. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said as she took a breath and put her arm around her back as he put his around her shoulders to pull her close to him. They were still keeping their relationship quiet and private, not everyone in Intelligence knew about them, so they had to be careful how much affection they showed. Right now, it just looked like he was comforting her while Jay talked to Voight.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why were you guys here?"

"Jay was working," she said. "I was out with some friends from college."

"You ended up at the same party?" he looked around. "In this neighborhood?"

"Ask me what you really want to ask me, Kevin," she sighed.

"Look, I know you've been having a hard time, and I get it," he nodded. "But, what are we doing? If you need some space, or this isn't working for you, just tell me because I'm not really sure what to do here."

Every bone in her body wanted to run in that moment. He was giving her an easy way out, and she wanted to take it. She liked to self-sabotage and this was the perfect moment. She could say yes, she needed space. Or no, it wasn't working for her. She could even say something about how it wasn't his place to do anything, that she didn't need to be saved, that she didn't need someone to take care of her, or that she was too much of a mess to bring him down. But, she liked him, she really liked him, more than she ever liked someone, and that was part of the problem.

"It's not any of those things, and it's not you," she shook her head. "I come with a lot of baggage, and you don't."

"Yeah, I do," he said. "Up until a few weeks ago I had sole custody of my brother and sister, that didn't just happen because of good things going on."

"It's different. You are steady, and I've always been a mess," she said. "I'm used to healthy relationships, and I don't want to mess this up because we've got a good thing going."

"Yeah, we do," he smiled. "I'm not afraid of a little mess, and I'm okay if you need to grieve Scott. You shared something and he meant something to you, so you don't have to hide that from me."

"Thank you," she smiled as she squeezed his hand, the only public display of affection they could hide.

"Hails, come on," Jay said as he broke up their conversation. "We're going home."

"You're not staying to work?" she frowned.

"Not for this," he said as he put his hand on her back and nodded at Kevin. He pulled her toward Will, who was waiting to pick them up. "If you want to keep you two a secret, you better cool it in public."

"I don't care about keeping us a secret," she said. "I think he might, though."

"It's not you," Jay shook his head. "It's the job."

"Maybe," she sighed.

"Look, he's about eight years older than you and he's a cop and you're a student," Jay tried to explain. "It's not that you're doing anything wrong, but it's enough to have people talk and Kevin is a private guy."

"What's going on?" Will asked as they climbed into the truck.

"Not exactly sure yet," Jay said. "A girl was shot and that's just about all we know."

"I meant, what's going on with you two being at the same party?" he clarified.

"I'm working undercover," Jay said. "Hailey was hanging out with some friends."

"And, you ended up at the same party?" Will glanced at his brother.

"She's fine," Jay said.

"She's right here," Hailey said from the back seat.

"I have to ask," Will said as he glanced at her in the rear view mirror.

"No, you really don't," she said. "You guys chose to because you still don't trust me."

She jumped out of the truck once he pulled into the driveway. Jay reassured Will that she was fine, she wasn't drinking and she didn't take anything. He followed Hailey inside, leaving Will to now worry about his other sibling as he climbed into his car and headed for work. He didn't worry much about Jay, he was always the classic older brother type who took care of everyone else, but now he was the one going through something.

Will had been a little distant lately, his siblings were both going through really rough times, but things were going really well for him. His biggest problem was trying to find a place and time to be with Natalie. He lives with two people and she had a child, so they resorted to hooking up in her car and him sneaking over to her place after Owen went to sleep.

It wasn't ideal, but their feelings for each other were growing. He felt almost guilty for being so happy when Jay and Hailey were clearly struggling, but he couldn't help it. They worked together, not just at the same hospital, but sometimes even on the same patients. Today, they had a teen girl who mysteriously started losing feeling in her foot and before they knew it, paralysis started spreading up her body.

It was confusing and it was worrisome, but nothing worried them more than when Will started experiencing the same symptoms. Will was trying to stay strong for Natalie, he could tell she was scared, but he was scared too. And, even though he didn't want to admit it, he needed Jay around. He didn't want to dump more problems on his already stressed out brother, but Will knew a part of Jay liked feeling needed and he liked being the one they turned to. He liked being the hero, in any way it came his way.

Jay came to the hospital immediately after Will called and he was the calming force his brother needed as they worked to solve the case. When they figured out the paralysis was due to a tick, Natalie removed it and the paralysis stopped progressing at knee level. After Will assured he was alright, Jay dropped Hailey off to stay with Will and he headed back to work.

Will could tell Hailey was a bit upset at the situation, but she was holding it together better than he expected. To his surprise, she was doing a good job distracting both of them from the situation. She brought him food, his laptop and a few movies, and a deck of cards they were using to play crazy eights as they talked.

"So, I got some tests done," she admitted.

He grinned. "You think I don't know about that?"

"You do?" she frowned before she sighed. "Are there any secrets in this hospital? What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"It's still very much in place," he said. "You're on my insurance, and I was billed for some of the tests, even though I know Connor buried most of them."

"I was going to tell you," she said.

"I know," he nodded.

"I just wanted to bring you good news for once," she said.

"Hails, you don't have to worry about me," he said. "I'll be there no matter how bad it is, just like I'll be there when it's good."

"Well, it is good," she said. "I'm fine, but I'm guessing you already know that."

He grinned again. "I do know that, and I'm happy," he nodded. "I want you to always be okay, that's why I asked you if anything happened at the party. I know loosing Scott hasn't been easy on you, and as much as I don't want to see you head down that road, I know it's possible. So, I want you to know that even if you did slip, Jay and I, we're still going to be here."

"I know that, but I'm okay, Will. And, it's because you guys are there, and were there, and will be there. I don't need to escape from my life anymore, and I've gotten through losing him sober, so I can get through just about anything." She said as she looked at him and smile spread across her face. "Even you being mysteriously paralyzed. This, scared me, but being here with you is better than being out at some party."

"Come here," he held his arm out and let her climb into the bed beside him. He put his arms protectively around her and pulled her close to kiss her head. "I love you, and I'm really proud of you."

.


End file.
